Two years after the signing of Treaty Number 3, Surveyor General John S. Dennis returned to Fort Frances for the purpose of meeting with Anishinaabe chiefs to settle reserve boundary issues. There, Dennis was met by a delegation of Métis seeking their own adhesion to Treaty No. 3.
Following short negotiations, Nicolas Chatelaine, acting as “Chief” of the “Half-breeds of Rainy River and Rainy Lake,” signed an adhesion to Treaty No. 3 on September 12, 1875, with Surveyor General Dennis who was representing “Her Majesty the Queen through the Government of the Dominion”. The 1875 “Halfbreed” Adhesion read, in part:
“The said Halfbreeds, keeping and observing on their part the terms and conditions of the said treaty shall receive compensation in the way of Reserves of land, payments, annuities and presents, in manner similar to that set forth in the several respects for the Indians in the said treaty.”
The promises in the 1875 Métis Adhesion were made to a distinct group of Métis—as Métis—not as “Indians.”
As part of the Halfbreed Adhesion, the “Halfbreeds” advocated for two new “reserves of land” of their own, rather than join existing First Nations bands or integrate into existing reserve lands.
Significantly, the 1875 Métis Adhesion does not state that the “Halfbreeds” had to become “Indians”. Instead, the text recognizes that the “Halfbreeds” collectively adhered to Treaty No. 3 as a distinct Métis group, and thereby became entitled to the same benefits and rights as the Anishinaabe who had also signed the treaty in 1873.
Despite the Métis community’s repeated efforts, the promises made in the 1875 Halfbreed Adhesion were quickly broken and have only begun to be meaningfully addressed by Canada in recent years—including through the signing of an Agreement on Advancing Reconciliation with the Northwestern Ontario Métis Community in 2017.
As the Northwestern Ontario Métis Community continues to fight for a just and lasting resolution of its outstanding claims related to the 1875 Métis Adhesion, it does so with a commitment to ensuring that the rights and interests of First Nations and private landowners are acknowledged and respected. While lands may be included in its lasting resolution, for example, the Métis Community is not seeking the return of or interest in any specific reserve lands that are now within what is known as Couchiching First Nation.
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