Bright autumn sunshine did little to take the chill out of the air Friday morning. Still, it did not deter dozens of residents, First Nations leaders and community representatives from gathering outside the Fort Frances Civic Centre for a historic flag-raising ceremony.
Around 80 people were in attendance to witness the Grand Council Treaty #3 flag raised on its own permanent flagpole at 320 Portage Ave.
The occasion was intended as more than a ceremonial gesture. Speakers emphasized both the enduring relationship between the Anishinaabe Nation and the town, and the responsibility to turn public commitments to reconciliation into meaningful action.
“This event is much more than just the raising of a flag,” Mayor Andrew Hallikas told those assembled. “It is recognition of the history of this land, a recognition of the relationship established through Treaty #3, and a commitment to building a better future together.”
Treaty #3 was signed on Oct. 3, 1873, between Anishinaabe representatives and the Crown at the Northwest Angle of Lake of the Woods. Its territory covers approximately 55,000 square miles of what is now northwestern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba, encompassing 28 First Nations. Ten are in the southern region surrounding Fort Frances.
The town’s proclamation calls for the flag to fly permanently as a reminder that Fort Frances stands within Treaty #3 territory and that all who live there are treaty people. It also encourages residents to learn about harms committed against Indigenous peoples and pursue reconciliation through respect and partnership.
Town councillor Bill Morrison, who guided the ceremony, explained that preparations had included offering tobacco to Elder Shirley Atwell of Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, who helped ensure appropriate traditions were followed
“It’s very important that we have things right, especially when we have cultural protocols,” Morrison told the crowd.
Proceedings began with singers from Grand Council Treaty #3’s Ogichidaa and Ogichidaakwe drums, joined by Maango-Inini, the children’s drum of Weechi-it-te-win Family Services.
After a pipe ceremony, they sang four songs in a row: the pipe song, the men’s song, the women’s song and the feather song.
Elder Shirley Atwell then led the opening prayer. Fruit was then passed through the crowd, along with water blessed by the drums.
“In our culture, Anishinaabeg, they shared food with each other,” Atwell said. “It didn’t matter how much we had; we would share, we would feed our visitors.”
She also urged people to learn Anishinaabemowin, even one word at a time. Atwell said she once didn’t speak a word of English, but learned it from her non-Indigenous friends.
“So even that, one word at a time, it gets us somewhere,” she said.
Couchiching First Nation Chief Richard Bruyere called the gathering a historic moment for reconciliation and reminded attendees that the ceremony and sacred items carried spiritual significance beyond the raising of a civic flag.
“It’s not just a regular ceremony,” he said. “It’s a ceremony that has depth to it within the First Nations people.”
Chief Dean Councillor of Naicatchewenin First Nation likewise welcomed the step, expressing hope for stronger relationships with the town. He referred to recent ceremonies involving the Agency One First Nations, which earlier this month celebrated the renaming of the former Point Park grounds as Ogimaakamig.
The ceremony comes 16 months after an Ontario Superior Court ruling confirmed that Point Park belongs to the four Agency One First Nations, ending a legal fight that began in 1998. Town council voted not to appeal.
Deputy Grand Chief Cheyenne Vandermeer, a Couchiching member who in 2024 became the first Gaakinawataagizod of Grand Council Treaty #3, said the flag “represents our people, our sovereignty, our history, and the treaty relationship that continues to this day.”
But she cautioned that “raising a flag is not the same as reconciliation.”
“It’s built through relationships, through listening, through accountability, and through the actions we take long after everyone gathered here has gone home,” she said. “The true significance of this flag will not be measured by how high it flies, but how deeply the commitments it represents are honoured.”
As the drums sang the flag song, Hallikas and Vandermeer jointly raised the Treaty #3 flag at 12:17 p.m.
With the flag now waving overhead in the midday breeze, Hallikas asked everyone to take a minute to look up at it “as a symbol of the bond between our two communities.”
“Bear with me one second; my fingers are frozen,” Coun. Morrison said as he wrapped up.
“May this flag fly proudly for generations to come as a lasting symbol of friendship, mutual respect, and the relationships we continue to build together,” he said.
Despite the cold, the morning concluded on a warmer note as attendees gathered for a barbecue provided by the town.
