Indigenous Kenora: Treaty 3, Nations and Community
An introduction to Kenora: its history, the Nations whose lands it sits on, and Indigenous community life today, with sources.
About Kenora
Kenora sits on Lake of the Woods about 50 kilometres east of the Manitoba border, in Treaty 3 territory, signed in 1873. First incorporated as Rat Portage, it took its present name in 1905 from Keewatin, Norman and Rat Portage, and the current city formed in 2000 by joining Kenora, Keewatin and Jaffray Melick. Health care, public services, tourism, construction and wood industries support the economy, and cottagers from Manitoba and the American Midwest swell the population each summer. Grand Council Treaty #3 keeps an office on Main Street South, and the city is also home to the Ne-Chee Friendship Centre, Kenora Chiefs Advisory, Bimose Tribal Council, Treaty Three Police Service and the Kenora Métis Council. Wauzhushk Onigum Nation is a close neighbour, and many other Anishinaabe communities surround the lake, carrying on long ties to its waters and resources.
Kenora history
Kenora stands on the traditional territory of the Ojibwe, where Lake of the Woods spills into the Winnipeg River. The City of Kenora notes that this land was once the base of a single First Nation collective. That collective was later separated into three communities: Wauzhushk Onigum, Niisaachewan and Washagamis Bay. Treaty 3 was signed on October 3, 1873, with Chief Mikiseesis speaking for the Ojibwe First Nations. Notes written for Chief Powassin during the talks, known as the Paypom document, record the promises made. Those promises differ in several ways from the government's printed version. Around 1836, the Hudson's Bay Company opened a post beside the future townsite. The name Rat Portage comes from an Ojibwe name meaning, roughly, the portage to the country of the muskrats. Railway construction began about 1880 and brought lumbering, steamships, fisheries, hydroelectric power and flour milling. Gold was first found nearby in 1850, and by 1893 twenty mines operated within 24 kilometres. Ontario and Manitoba both claimed the area from 1870 to 1884. Rat Portage was even incorporated as a Manitoba town in 1882. The Privy Council ruled for Ontario, and the town officially joined the province in 1889. In 1907, the Kenora Thistles won the Stanley Cup.
Treaty and territory
Kenora is on Treaty 3 territory, the lands of the Anishinaabe, and the homeland of the Métis.
Nearby: Wauzhushk Onigum Nation · Washagamis Bay First Nation · Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation · Iskatewizaagegan 39 Independent First Nation · Shoal Lake 40 First Nation · Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls
Indigenous Kenora today
The City of Kenora acknowledges the Anishinaabe of Treaty #3 and the Métis people. It also states that its economy benefits greatly from the Anishinaabe and Métis who live in and around the city. One census count put the Indigenous share of residents at 21.3 per cent, split between First Nations and Métis. Grand Council Treaty #3 describes its role as being stewards of the land. Its departments cover health, social services, environment, culture, justice, education and economic development. Its fall calendar has included a Fall Assembly, an Orange Shirt Day Pow Wow on September 30 and a Sisters in Spirit vigil. The Ne-Chee Friendship Centre sits on 2nd Street South. It aims to offer a safe, caring and culturally respectful approach to health for Indigenous people in Kenora. It runs programs for children and youth, employment and education, health and community justice. Seven Generations Education Institute has a Kenora campus called Manidoo Baawaatig, with an event centre and makerspace. The institute offers high school, college and training programs to everyone in the Treaty 3 area. It supports Anishinaabemowin learning through its Waking Up Ojibwe resources.
Life in Kenora
Kenora had 14,967 residents in the 2021 census, but summer changes the picture. By the mid-20th century, seaplanes and the Trans-Canada Highway were bringing heavy summer traffic to the lake. The city's best-known landmark is Husky the Muskie, a 12-metre statue of a fighting muskellunge put up in 1967. The Lake of the Woods Museum and the Douglas Family Art Centre share a home at The MUSE. The harbourfront hosts festivals and concerts through the warm months. Recent city event listings have included a farmers' market and a Rotary Lobsterfest. The weather swings widely. Kenora's record high reached 40.6°C on July 11, 1936. Its record low was −43.9°C on January 20, 1943. Hockey history runs deep here too. The 1907 Stanley Cup win made Kenora the smallest town ever to hold the trophy.
Kenora seasons and weather
Kenora’s winters are long and very cold, with lakes freezing solid, while summers are warm and busy on the water. Pack a hoodie for evenings even in July, and heavy layers from November to March.
More on the region: Indigenous Ontario · all of Canada.
Keep learning in the XUSI Journal
- The Numbered Treaties, Explained
- Treaty Annuity Payments and Treaty Days, Explained
- First Nations, Métis and Inuit: What’s the Difference?
- How to Write a Land Acknowledgement That Means Something
- All Journal articles
Kenora questions
Kenora is close to Manitoba. Does it matter which province I ship to?
Orders of $90 or more ship free anywhere in Canada, whether the address is in Ontario or Manitoba. Otherwise shipping is calculated at checkout.
Can a Treaty 3 community group order custom printed shirts?
Yes. Custom screen printing has a 10-garment minimum, up to 4 colours per design with design help included, and every order is quoted before printing. Orders are printed in Saskatoon and shipped to Kenora.
Can a Treaty 3 organization in Kenora order orange shirts for September 30?
Yes. Custom screen printing starts at 10 garments, with up to 4 colours per design, and every order is quoted before printing. Design help is included. We print in Saskatoon and ship to Kenora, so order well before late September to leave time for printing and delivery.
Does XUSI make Anishinaabemowin designs for Kenora customers?
Our designs carry Cree words, with their stories on our meanings page, because we are a Indigenous-owned company from Saskatoon. We do not make Anishinaabemowin designs or speak for Anishinaabe culture. A Kenora group can bring its own words and artwork to our custom printing, with design help included.
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources listed below.
Indigenous clothing from XUSI
Kenora, on the northern shore of Lake of the Woods, gets XUSI deliveries too. The Indigenous-owned brand sends tees, hoodies and hats from Saskatoon into Treaty 3 territory.
Lake of the Woods sets the calendar in Kenora, and we'd plan a wardrobe around the water. On a summer day at the harbourfront, a heavyweight cotton tee and an A-frame snapback handle the sun. Both work for a photo with Husky the Muskie too. When evenings cool off on the dock, the Black Oni long sleeve is an easy extra layer. Come late September, the Revitalize Culture crewneck suits an outdoor Orange Shirt Day gathering. Once the lake freezes, a heavyweight hoodie belongs under your parka for ice fishing and hockey nights.
