| The people of Roseau have a rich history
in the Red River and Pembina Valleys. The current Canada-U.S.
boundary, that now bisects Anishinabe traditional territory,
wasn’t a factor in earlier times. Trade, socialization,
hunting and war were among the many reasons to move from place
to place. Elders remember trade between Cree, Ojibway and
Dakota Sioux, in territories from South Dakota, Montana and
Nebraska to the Great Lakes region of Northern Ontario. Leonard
Nelson says, “How we determined how far west our land
went: We stood on the bank on the Red River and as far as
we could see was Ojibway country.”
 The
Anishinabe had a structure of social order known as the clan
system. The system assigned responsibilities to various clans
and societies. Collectively, the Ojibway of Manitoba, Western
Ontario, North Dakota and Northern Minnesota were known as
the Zoong-gi-dah Anishinabe, the “Strong Heart People.”
They were given this name by the Midewiwin (the original Ojibway
Spiritual Society) of Wisconsin in recognition of their bravery.
Before the treaty, this band wasn’t known as Roseau
River but rather as the Pembina Band. (The word “pembina”
may come from the Cree nepeminan, meaning high bushcranberry.)
Some members in earlier times lived along the Pembina River
in North Dakota and along Joe Creek. When white settlers came
and began to clear land, bands had to go further and further
away from their home territories to hunt. Bands scattered
and when Treaty 1 was signed, a new name and grouping was
given to the people around Roseau River.
The Treaty
The Anishinabe at Roseau River signed Treaty #1 with the
Crown of Great Britain in Right of Canada on August 3, 1871.
Under the Homestead Act of 1872, each settler received 640
acres of land, but the treaty set aside only 160 acres for
each family of five and this was only a small portion of the
band’s traditional territory. But as was the case with
many other treaties of the era, the government failed to respect
even this small allotment, and regular encroachments occurred.
Since the signing of Treaty #1, the Roseau River Anishinabe
Nation has been attempting to negotiate with the government
to settle outstanding claims for the shortfall of 5,861 acres
at Treaty.
To date, the Roseau River community has received approximately
$14 million in settlement for their Treaty Land Entitlement
(TLE) claims
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