Following Confederation in 1867, the Canadian government began planning for a road and waterway system from Lower Fort Garry in Manitoba east to Lake of the Woods, Ontario, to facilitate access to the interior of Canada. The Anishinaabe nations made it clear that they would permit government projects to go forward on their land with compensation, but that they would not cede it. On October 3, 1873, following four years of negotiations, Treaty #3 was signed between the Anishinaabe and the governm