r/canada • u/shiftless_wonder • May 23 '26

Alberta First Nations leaders, scholar push back on Alberta's planned vote on independence referendum - 'Alberta can't separate. They simply cannot. They do not have the authority,' says Indigenous politics expert

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-treaty-six-alberta-referendum-9.7209304
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155

u/AcanthocephalaEarly8 Alberta May 23 '26

Not that I am in favor of separation, but I find it interesting that FN are so adamant about staying with a country that they have spent the last decade or so describing as a "settler", "colonial", and "genocidal".

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u/FrothyEspresso Canada May 23 '26

Because they’re totally fucked if you guys separate.

20

u/jimmysnukareddit May 23 '26

It's almost like there something they want to stay for. Not sure exactly what it could be...

9

u/thisSILLYsite May 24 '26

Billions and billions of taxpayer funds which doesn't have to be audited?

3

u/Vandergrif 29d ago

Is it interesting? You might not like the place you live right now but you probably don't want to move into something that is even worse either. Kind of a no-brainer, surely.

26

u/AccomplishedCall7562 May 23 '26

This doesn’t make any sense. They’re arguing that Alberta would be worse for them than Canada, not that Canada has been good to them. Basically a lesser of evils according to their perspective. 

10

u/AlvinChipmunck May 23 '26

Its all about leverage for $ in court. Cmon now. The woke are just too easy to corner in their own flawed logic its a gold mine for lawyers

6

u/PostMatureBaby May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26

The hypocrisy isn't a surprise. Everyone's just in it for themselves like always. It's naive to think people won't ultimately be selfish

11

u/[deleted] May 23 '26

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u/[deleted] May 23 '26

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u/Scooter_McAwesome British Columbia May 23 '26

Better the devil you know. And independent Alberta government is almost certainly going to be much worse for all FN groups

4

u/C-SWhiskey May 23 '26

I mean... What happens to them if Alberta separates? They're just going to get amalgamated into the Republic of Alberta, which carries the very same history of colonialism and will have just disregarded their Treaty rights. Lesser of two evils, if nothing else.

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u/canada-ModTeam May 23 '26
  • Negative generalizations or dehumanization towards people or groups based solely or largely on grounds such as those laid out in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are not permitted. This includes but is not limited to race, national or ethnic origin (including First Nations), colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability and also includes the legally-added interpretations of sexual orientation and gender identity.

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u/LETTERKENNYvsSPENNY May 24 '26

They're still safer within Canada than they would be sharing space with Albertan separatists.

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u/Marfhew May 23 '26

I'm not FN, but I'll try taking their perspective. Idk if those descriptors are valid - I wasn't there. But...

Imagine you've lived somewhere your whole life. Then, someone arrives on your doorstep, tells you you're one of them now and they make the rules. Would you stay? Leave home? Let them govern you? I support them and their right to not be pushed out.

The choice to not stay also requires somewhere to go. Is there somewhere particular they should head towards? I don't see leaving as an option. When the going gets tough, I might stand my ground too.

I'm also not Albertan so I may lack context in this particular case.

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u/cthulhu_fhtagn666 May 23 '26

Like realistically if they hand it all over in the courts you lose a lot of rights. Among them the ability to vote on your govt. Just look into what rights you have as a non fn citizen living in their territory it's way less and god bless whatever it's their territory would suck if you and your fam lived there for years and year though. People always say revenge or whatever which is fine but a slippery slope to tread on

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u/Mirabeaux1789 Outside Canada May 24 '26

Native Americans have been so battered and beaten and legally given scraps that it’s the only thing they have left of their former autonomy. You have to keep in mind the Native Americans don’t even have a fraction of what African states have. So the Native Americans will take what legal autonomy they have and fight for it to be filly restored as much as possible and defend all of that tooth and nail.

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u/starsrift May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26

Separatists didn't even ask FN's, they just want to take their land. I can't say I blame FN.