First Nations fight Alberta separation to protect treaty rights

Chiefs from five treaty nations whose territories fall within Alberta are mounting court challenges to block a provincial referendum on separation, arguing the vote violates constitutionally protected Indigenous rights.

At Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in northwestern Alberta, Chief Sheldon Sunshine is overseeing a tight-knit community of 1,400 people working to strengthen cultural ties and land-based learning for future generations. Summer camps include moose harvests with elder teachings on traditional food preparation, and fish camps where community members learn ancestral practices.

"Our way of life is out there on the land. It's harvesting medicines, living off the land, utilizing the fur-bearing animals in a good way to sustain ourselves," Sunshine said. "Our people have been living in this territory for millennia and when they signed Treaty, it was to ensure our way of life continued."

Two different judges have already ruled in First Nations' favour, finding the province neglected its duty to consult by allowing Stay Free Alberta's referendum petition to proceed. The courts determined that treaty rights—nation-to-nation agreements signed before Alberta became a province in 1905—supersede provincial decisions.

Treaty 8 spans northern Alberta, while Treaty 6 covers Edmonton and central Alberta. Treaty 7 stretches from south of Red Deer to the Canada-U.S. border. Smaller slivers of Treaty 10 and Treaty 4 also fall within the province.

"Treaty First Nations are the senior partners at the constitutional table," said Bruce McIvor, a senior partner at First Peoples Law LLP. "If Alberta wanted to remove itself from Canada, Alberta wouldn't have any legitimacy" because treaties are foundational to Canada's constitutional democracy, he added.

Sturgeons Lake is at the forefront of these legal battles, with Sunshine and other leaders pushing back against what they see as a threat to Indigenous sovereignty and way of life.