Open-cockpit plane sputtering low over the Northern Ontario bush, 1929. It drops onto an unnamed lake. Out climb the commissioners, face to face with the Wendigo Band chief they thought they’d missed.

Soccer diplomacy seals the talks. One deadly crash later, and 90,000 square miles shift hands under Treaty No. 9 adhesion.

If you’re knee-deep in Treaty 9 research or land claims battles today, this raw expedition report hands you the missing pieces.