September 12 marks 151 years since the Métis families of Rainy Lake and Rainy River, led by Nicholas Chatelaine, signed what was historically known as the Halfbreed Adhesion to Treaty No. 3.

Signed in 1875, the Adhesion remains the only known instance in Canadian history in which a Métis community collectively signed an adhesion to one of the numbered treaties with the Crown.

The Adhesion included commitments related to rights and recognition for the Métis people of the region. Today, the Northwestern Ontario Métis Community continues to carry forward the history, identity, and legacy of the Métis families who signed it.