Chief Raymond Powder: What Indigenous reconciliation can teach Albertan separatists

National Post

10-05-2025

Last Saturday, a large crowd of people rallied for Alberta's independence in front of the legislature in Edmonton. Disappointed that the federal election didn't deliver their preferred result, many in the group felt a boost when the government of Alberta introduced Bill 54, which will lower the threshold for citizens to trigger a referendum. But that bill has also stirred up anger with another group: Indigenous peoples across the province.
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Several First Nations leaders across Alberta have argued the law blatantly disregards Treaty rights. Many in our communities, including in my home Nation of Fort McKay, are outraged and emotional — and understandably so. But today I invite all frustrated Albertans to consider wisdom drawn from the path towards reconciliation.
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Anger and alienation towards the government is a feeling that's all too familiar for Indigenous peoples. The failed extermination of Indigenous cultures, languages and traditions fuelled those exact emotions, and far worse, for generations. Those sentiments have run deep, and have been an unfortunate fact of life with roots dating back before Canada's Confederation.
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But despite having more reasons than anyone to be bitter and resentful, Indigenous peoples are overwhelmingly rejecting separatism. We respect the Treaty relationship we made with the Crown. At times we have had to fight in the courts and negotiate hard to enforce the Treaties, but we have not walked away from the Treaty relationship.
Thanks to that determination, some Indigenous people of today's generation are starting to see results — tangible improvements to their lives that are directly tied to our demand to be treated with the dignity and respect called for under our treaties with the Crown. But progress is uneven.
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In truth, we are only on the first few steps of the road towards reconciliation. For Fort McKay First Nation, that has included making strides on economic reconciliation. After decades of work, today we are both a strong partner in the energy sector that drives Alberta's economy, and we are environmental stewards developing innovative solutions to protect our land for the future. We got there by working hard, acting in good faith, and being persistent. We built our own financial success, one contract and one company at a time. When we needed to, we fought hard: we first negotiated and then litigated the Moose Lake Accord, which created a protected zone preserving our traditional lands from expanding oilsands development.
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