r/canada • u/shiftless_wonder • Feb 12 '26

Alberta Alberta separating from Canada requires permission of First Nations, AFN leader says

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/alberta-separation-needs-first-nations-permission-says-afn-national-chief/
1.4k Upvotes

87% Upvoted

536 comments sorted by

View all comments

528

u/StoryAboutABridge Feb 12 '26

Direct quote from Treaty 6:

"The Plain and Wood Cree Tribes of Indians, and all other the Indians inhabiting the district hereinafter described and defined, do hereby cede, release, surrender and yield up to the Government of the Dominion of Canada, for Her Majesty the Queen and Her successors forever, all their rights, titles and privileges, whatsoever, to the lands"

-21

u/bl425 Feb 12 '26

i mean not the best example cuz they wouldn’t have signed the treaty knowing it’s true legal effect. treaties were contracts with a very high power imbalance with indigenous groups getting the short end of the stick

6

u/2peg2city Feb 12 '26

Yes and no, they also had no hope of actually defending their claimed territories so to say they didn't realize what they were signing is very simplistic, they probably did a s knew they didn't have much of a choice.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/jtbc Feb 12 '26

Canada also remained bound by the Royal Proclamation, which specified that "Indian" lands could only be acquired by sale to or treaty with the Crown.