relationship

First Nation leaders are calling it historic.

Fort Frances has raised the Treaty #3 flag at the Civic Centre.

An Indigenous-led ceremony marked the occasion on Friday.

Fort Frances council agreed in 2023 to add new flagpoles, allowing for the flags of the Metis Nation of Ontario and Treaty #3 to fly permanently.

A ceremony for the Metis was held in September of that year.

Mayor Andrew Hallikas says the Treaty #3 flag-raising is a visible and lasting reminder of the First Nations people who have long lived in the area and the relationship with the Crown through Treaty #3 and the town’s commitment to building better relations with the First Nations.

“The town of Fort Francis is deeply committed to working toward the goal of reconciliation and beyond,” says Hallikas.

“We want to partner with First Nations in friendship and respect and move forward towards mutual prosperity together. That commitment is reflected in what we do today.”

Hallikas acknowledges that the relationship with First Nations has not always reflected the respect and mutual understanding it should.

“The flag that we raise today represents history, but it also represents the future,” says Hallikas.

“It represents our desire as a community to move forward with all Indigenous people in a relationship grounded in mutual respect, understanding, cooperation, and friendship.”

Deputy Grand Chief of Grand Council Treaty #3 Cheyenne Vandermeer calls the flag-raising an important step toward building trust and strengthening relationships with area First Nations.

She says, though, that the act is not the same as reconciliation.

“Reconciliation is not accomplished through a single ceremony, a proclamation, or a symbol,” says Vandermeer.

“It’s built through relationships, through listening, through accountability, and through the actions we take long after everyone gathered here has gone home.”

She does see the town’s willingness to fly the Treaty #3 flag as an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to stronger relations.

“Every time someone enters town hall, every time a decision is made that affects our communities and every time our children walk past this building and look up at that flag, let it serve as a reminder of the responsibilities that we share,” says Vandermeer.

“A reminder that treaty relationships are living relationships. A reminder that respect must be demonstrated through action. A reminder that our First Nations are not simply part of this region’s history. We are part of its present, and we will always be a part of its future.”

Chief of Naicatchewenin First Nation, Dean Councillor, also sees the flag-raising as the start of a renewed relationship between the town and area First Nations.

“It’s a very historic occasion, and we want to see where it goes from here because with the ceremonies over the last two weeks that we’ve attended, for us, it’s a renewal, a growth, a new growth.”

Fort Frances is the second municipality within the Treaty 3 territory to permanently raise the Treaty 3 flag.

Kenora was the first to do so, holding an event at its city hall on June 21, 2017, as part of what is now known today as National Indigenous Peoples Day.

The event in Fort Frances occurred just after the 153rd anniversary of the signing of Treaty #3, which happened on October 3, 1873, at Northwest Angle on Lake of the Woods.