Rainy Lake and River Bands of Saulteaux

Rainy Lake and River Bands of Saulteaux (Ojibwe language: Gojijiwininiwag) are Saulteaux (Ojibwe) group located in Northwestern Ontario and northern Minnesota, along and about the Rainy Lake and the Rainy River, known in Ojibwe as Gojijiing.^[1]

Through Treaty of Paris (1783) and the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842), the Gojijiwininiwag were split between those in the United States and those in the British North America (which later became Canada). The Gojijiwininiwag in Canada became parties to Treaty 3.

In Canada, the communities forming the Rainy Lake and River Bands of Saulteaux interacted with the Canadian government with Department of Indian Affairs (today, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada) through the Couchiching Agency, Fort Frances, Ontario, from 1871−1903, after which the agency became the Fort Frances Agency.^[2] Rainy River Bands at one time had a joint Indian reserve known as the "Wild Land 15M." The Rainy Lake Bands still have a joint reserve known as the Agency 1.