RAINY RIVER FIRST NATION – Nearly 50 members of Treaty Three First Nations, from infants to elders, began a canoe journey to recognize the agreement's 150th anniversary on Friday.
The group set out from the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung (Manitou Mounds) Culture Centre on Friday morning on the Dasoonag trip, drawing from an Anishinaabemowin term for "so many canoes."
They will travel 190 kilometres along the Rainy River into the Lake of the Woods to the spot where the North-West Angle Treaty was signed on Oct. 3, 1873.
“We're very, very proud of what we're doing and we're proud of the nation for participating and being able to share our knowledge with the rest of the world,” said Jim Leonard, manager of the Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Cultural Centre.
Grand Council Treaty Three represents the 28 signatory nations to the treaty, including 26 First Nations in northwestern Ontario and two in southeastern Manitoba.
An initial Dasoonag trip to the Northwest Angle 25 years ago was made by members of the Rainy River First Nations community. For the 150th celebrations, all of Grand Treaty Three communities were invited to participate.
“There are quite a few young people here, which is always nice to see," said Rainy River First Nations community member Seth Vlotarios. "A lot of them are my family as well, which is nice because you can never lose your family. It's always good to build those bonds and continue this journey together.”
Along their journey, the group planned several stops where Elders will share their knowledge and history of being a treaty signatory.
One of those stops is Naongashing, which the Canadian government relocated in 1950 to Big Island Mainland No. 93; however, in 1982, the majority of the Naongashing people were relocated to Saug-a-gaw-sing No. 1 located on the South East shore of Lake of the Woods.
“A lot of the elders have some really wonderful stories about that place and going back to that area where they were relocated from," said Leonard. "That's got to be quite an emotional moment. There's a lady here from Kenora and her grandfather had a trap line and fished in that area. That's the first time in [50 or 60] years that she's going back there. She's really excited to go back there to visit the place of her childhood."
When he isn’t studying at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Vlotarios returns to his home in the Rainy Rapid. For the past seven years, he worked for Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Cultural Centre.
Recently, Vlotarios travelled to New Zealand as part of a student trip. His experience of being immersed with the Indigenous people of Māori granted him a new perceptive on the importance of knowledge, culture, and reconciliation. For Vlotarios, education is a big part of reconciliation.
“I recently went on this big trip to New Zealand that I think really opened up my eyes about what we can expect to have here in Canada, especially as Indigenous people, so going there and then coming on to this canoe trip made me step more into or having this feeling of obligation I should probably actually learn more about what Treaty Three actually is,” said Vlotarios.
“I've been doing a lot of research and learning about that, because it's important and as young people, it's hard to want to learn about stuff like that when other people around you aren't. It's hard to take that first step. I think this canoe trip is part of that,” continued Vlotarios.
