Reclaiming Treaty #3 land in Fort Frances

About 300 people marched through the Agency #1 reserve lands in Fort Frances during a June 21 unity walk.
The walk was intended to highlight the encroachment of the town of Fort Frances onto reserve land that was set aside for four First Nations after the signing of Treaty #3.
“Everyone just wanted to bring some attention to some of the struggles we have been having surrounding the return of Agency #1 land back to the four Agency #1 communities,” said
Jeremiah Windego, an organizer of the unity walk. “We heard a lot of strong messages from the chiefs of each one of those communities about the fight they are in to have those lands returned to Indian status.”
The Agency #1 reserve was set aside for the four Rainy Lake bands — Couchiching, Mitaanjigamiing, Naicatchewenin and Nigigoonsiminikaaning — after the signing of Treaty #3 in 1873.
“This is very symbolic of our treaty, the way that Agency #1 reserve has been handled in the past,” said Naicatchewenin Chief Wayne Smith. “When the First Nations had something of real value the Indian agents of the past found some way to give it to others, lease it or rent it for many, many years. In the instance of this beautiful reserve, there was a 99-year lease as well as other lands that were taken out of our control.”
Windego said the Agency #1 lands once extended west to Frenette Ave. in Fort Frances, where the community’s arena is now located.
“They actually call it the incredible shrinking reserve,” Windego said. “It has been cut down considerably in size and much of the town of Fort Frances now resides on Agency #1 land.”
Smith said the four communities are looking for the return of Agency #1 lands not owned by others.
A 99-year lease on Pithers Point ended in 2009, but a Superior Court decision placed the lands under the jurisdiction of Fort Frances until the ownership issue was resolved.
“This litigation around the park lands will likely continue,” said Nigigoonsiminikaaning Chief Will Windigo. “In the meantime, we are trying to plan infrastructure and economic development for the remainder of the lands that were not sold in Agency #1 reserve, including the old golf course area.”
Windigo said the four communities are not looking to create new injustices by resolving their land claims at the expense of innocent purchasers of lands.
“If lands are owned by others, despite a lot of irregularities in how the land was taken out of this reserve, we do not dispute the title held by others today,” Windigo said. “But we should be compensated for losing the land.”
Couchiching Chief Chuck McPherson said a surveyor mistakenly drew 132-foot shore allowances on federal lands in the past.
“And now we are all paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawyers,” McPherson said. “We are asking the district to support the return of the shore allowance lands so that we can start to develop the Agency #1 reserve and maintain the park ourselves as long as it is economically feasible, and develop jobs and opportunities for our people.”