The Peguis-Selkirk Treaty, regarded by some as the founding document of Winnipeg, was signed 200 years ago this Tuesday.

The 1817 treaty established the Red River Settlement after an agreement was reached between Chief Peguis and Thomas Douglas, the 5th Earl of Selkirk.

On Sunday morning, members of the Manitoba Living History Society marked the anniversary by dressing in 1817 attire and re-creating the event at Seven Oaks House Museum.

“Chief Peguis came from the Great Lakes area and settled in Netley Creek, the Selkirk Settlers arrived in 1812 and both had difficulties with seasons, with planting crops, and with basically existing,” said Marie Zorniak, chair of the Manitoba Living History Society. “And they each shared their resources with each other and their knowledge. So it was an agreement set up to establish a community.”

The treaty also established the initial relationship between First Nations and the Crown in Western Canada, despite it being signed well before Confederation in 1867.