Province announces historic agreement with Treaty 8 First Nations
Premier Rachel Notley signed a protocol agreement with aboriginal leaders Tuesday, promising better collaboration and co-operation with First Nations in northern Alberta.
Deputy Grand Chief Isaac Laboucan-Avirom of Treaty 8 called it a “historic day,” saying that “actions will speak louder than words.”
The protocol agreement opens a dialogue between aboriginal leaders and ministers, allowing them to discuss priorities, make plans and exercise self-determination in shaping the future of their communities.
Several working groups will be established, covering topics such as women and children; consultation, development and the environment; economy and employment; education; health and infrastructure. Each group will report annually to the grand chief of Treaty 8 and the premier on their progress.
“It’s about giving communities the tools to support themselves, and, to do that, we need to be able to engage with them consistently,” Notley said.
“There needs to be an understanding that we need to engage with the First Nations leadership, not run after it when we discover the problems afterwards.”
Laboucan-Avirom said he hopes the meetings will give Treaty 8 communities a voice and help them “design our own destiny.”
One of the main issues on the agenda is better resource-revenue sharing, he said.
“We haven’t really felt like we’ve been benefiting out of our natural resources that have been coming from our territories. Why should we have second-class education when Treaty 8 territory has been feeding and educating thousands of people? There should be equality,” he said.
In 2008, then-premier Ed Stelmach and the grand chiefs of Alberta’s three treaty areas signed a protocol agreement that promised the premier would meet with chiefs at least once a year and with ministers responsible for land use and conservation twice a year. That agreement expired in 2013.
Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan acknowledged that there have been good intentions in the past, but they have not always been followed through.
“What’s different now is we have an opportunity for all of the ministers to actually sit face to face at the table with all of the chiefs looking at each specific issue,” Feehan said.
The government says it is working on establishing protocol agreements with the other two regions in Alberta, Treaties 6 and 7.