When Alberta chiefs said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith doesn’t understand Treaty 6 or the inherent rights of the people that it applies to, they offered us a red herring..That's because Bill 1, the arguably mistitled 'Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act,' clearly states: “Nothing in this Act is to be construed as authorizing any order that would be contrary to the Constitution of Canada or abrogating or derogating from any existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada that are recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.”.This didn’t stop indigenous leaders from sending a letter on December 9 to Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani, asking her to withhold royal assent. In the letter, Treaty 8 First Nations Grand Chief Arthur Noskey said, "We have always been a sovereign people. So the issue is the Royal Crown has parliamentarians here in Canada that do not know squat about the treaties. That is the issue.".A quick reading of this treaty is all that's necessary to expose as groundless any claim that Treaty 6, or any other Canadian land treaty with aboriginal peoples, created “sovereign first nations.”.The 1876 treaty never created “first nations,” a recently invented term of no legal standing, that obscures the fact on the prairies, one loosely structured indigenous band or tribe fought their neighbours over the same lands and resources for thousands of years — a process that exploded after the arrival of horses in the 17th century.. Treaty 6 .Among other things, treaties were pursued by the British to end inter-tribal warfare. Treaty 6 refers to the indigenous bands and tribes subject to its provisions, as Queen Victoria’s “Indian subjects.” This is hardly a starting point for a sovereignty claim. In exchange for the surrender of 121,000 square miles of land “To have and to hold the same to Her Majesty the Queen and Her successors forever,” the bands received, among other grants, “reserves for farming lands, due respect being had to lands at present cultivated by the said Indians, and other reserves for the benefit of the said Indians, to be administered and dealt with for them by Her Majesty's Government of the Dominion of Canada.”.Again, a denial of indigenous sovereignty..The treaty goes on to say that:.“Her Majesty further agrees with Her said Indians that within the boundary of Indian reserves, until otherwise determined by Her Government of the Dominion of Canada, no intoxicating liquor shall be allowed to be introduced or sold, and all laws now in force, or hereafter to be enacted, to preserve Her Indian subjects inhabiting the reserves or living elsewhere within Her North-west Territories from the evil influence of the use of intoxicating liquors, shall be strictly enforced.".“It is further agreed between Her Majesty and Her said Indians, that such sections of the reserves above indicated as may at any time be required for public works or buildings, of what nature soever, may be appropriated for that purpose by Her Majesty's Government of the Dominion of Canada, due compensation being made for the value of any improvements thereon.".“And the undersigned Chiefs on their own behalf and on behalf of all other Indians inhabiting the tract within ceded, do hereby solemnly promise and engage to strictly observe this treaty, and also to conduct and behave themselves as good and loyal subjects of Her Majesty the Queen.".“They promise and engage they will in all respects obey and abide by the law, and they will maintain peace and good order between each other, and also between themselves and other tribes of Indians, and between themselves and others of Her Majesty's subjects, whether Indians or whites, now inhabiting or hereafter to inhabit any part of the said ceded tracts, and that they will not molest the person or property of any inhabitant of such ceded tracts, or the property of Her Majesty the Queen, or interfere with or trouble any person passing or travelling through the said tracts, or any part thereof, and that they will aid and assist the officers of Her Majesty in bringing to justice and punishment any Indian offending against the stipulations of this treaty, or infringing the laws in force in the country so ceded.”.Today the descendants of those who agreed to abide by all these treaty conditions are denying they are good and loyal subjects of His Majesty, King Charles III, when they claim they are a sovereign people, a treasonous allegation if there ever was one, but one no one is willing to challenge..Not even Danielle Smith..Hymie Rubenstein is a retired professor of anthropology, The University of Manitoba, and editor of The REAL Indigenous Issues Newsletter.
