Treaty #3 and the Interactions of Landscape and Memory in the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods Area

Abstract

This essay analyzes Aboriginal and settler landscapes within what became the Treaty #3 area of northwestern Ontario, during the late nineteenth century and after, and the tensions that exist between those landscapes. The Aboriginal landscape served the First Nations within their local framework but also included the international network of the fur trade. The settler landscape was created by people interested in expanding Canada, from Ontario into the West, through a road or railroad network, and in the development of the natural resources within the newly acquired territories in ways that represented the loss of control of the First Nations over their lands. This essay situates itself within William Turkel’s ideas of continuity in change, meaning that while the colonial landscape came to dominate, the preceding Aboriginal landscape continued into the present day---a point that must be acknowledged and respected, if the current tensions over land that exist between First Nations and settler societies are to be resolved.