“We gotta make it known for the next generations, this is what this generation did to support Alberta … we will be in the media, and it will be on the record.”
– Chief George Mackenzie
A referendum on Alberta leaving Canada is potentially in the cards, and the NWT’s Dene Nation wants to show support for the for Indigenous people in that province who denounce the separatist movement.
Dene National Chief George Mackenzie was particularly insulted over the sentiment of separation supporters in media stories that Indigenous people can leave the province if they don’t want to live in a separated Alberta.
“They’re telling the Aboriginals in Alberta, ‘If you’re not happy, pack and leave’,” Mackenzie said at the end of the three-day Dene Leadership Meeting on Community Crime Prevention in Yellowknife.
“That’s a slap in the face to all the Aboriginals of Canada. Absolutely no respect for our treaties. We are as a people of the land. Where did they expect them to go? I think it should be the other way around. They should pack and go. Where did they come from? We all know where they came from.”
The Dene Leadership Meeting on Community Crime Prevention in Yellowknife.(James O’Connor/CKLB)
The broader impact on treaty rights was also discussed by chiefs around the conference table, as the agreements are with the federal government, not the province.
“They are our brothers and sisters … the First Nations (under) Treaties 6, 7, and 8, really need support of the First Nations across Canada,” said Acho Dene Koe First Nation Chief Eugene Hope.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly warned about federal policy from the Liberal government considered unfriendly towards Alberta would prompt an “unprecedented national unity crisis.”
A new Leger poll for the Association for Canadian Studies shows 52 per cent of Canadians who responded believe Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s threats should be taken seriously.
Sahtu Dene Council Grand Chief Wilbert Kochon noted Smith has met with U.S. President Donald Trump, who repeatedly says Canada should be the 51st state.
“So, I think she knows what she’s doing, and I know what they’re after. Maybe they’re going to be the 51st state, with all the oil and gas. And then a lot of the companies, they own rights within our area too,” he said.
“So we really have to support our cousins on the other side, really pay attention to what’s going on.”
Alberta’s Piikani Nation Chief Troy Knowlton was quoted by the Edmonton Journal saying any talk of separation is “really insanity.”
He said he spoke to Alberta’s Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson on Monday and told him the rhetoric being promoted by the province was “taken right out of President Trump’s playbook.”
The Dene Leadership Meeting on Community Crime Prevention was called after a pandemic-era wave of drug traffickers sent from southern organized crime gangs has flooded communities across the NWT with crime, illness and death.
Resolutions unanimously passed Thursday were on critical areas, such as policing, community safety, and harm reduction were unanimously passed at the Dene Nation Leadership Meeting.
One of the central discussions at the meeting centred around examining policing contracts with as concerns were raised about the RCMP’s ability to respond effectively to the unique needs of Indigenous communities.
Police inaction on known drug houses and inadequate searches at road checkpoints were highlighted as significant threats to community safety, read the statement.
The resolutions “reflect our commitment to fostering safer, healthier communities while upholding the rights and interests of the Dene Nation.”
