Treaty 6 celebrates 150 years with week-long festival at Churchill Square

Representatives from the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations, the City of Edmonton, Edmonton Police Service, the federal government, Alberta's lieutenant-governor, and the Alberta NDP gathered at City Hall on Monday to commemorate 150 years since the signing of Treaty 6.

Following a morning flag-raising ceremony with traditional dancers, a week-long celebration kicked off at Churchill Square. The festivities include singing, dancing, and live performances featuring Juno Award nominee Tia Wood. Opportunities to learn traditional skills will be held at various locations throughout the week, a historical re-enactment of the treaty signing is planned at Fort Edmonton on Wednesday, and a powwow at Enoch Cree Nation will close the celebrations on Thursday.

Treaty 6 is a legal agreement signed in 1876 between the Indigenous and First Nations of Alexander, Alexis Nagota Sioux, Beaver Lake Cree, Cold Lake, Enoch Cree, Ermineskin Cree, Frog Lake, Whitefish Lake #128, Heart Lake, Kehewin Cree, Louis Bull, Montana, O'Chiese, Paul, Samson Cree, Sunchild, and the British Crown. It was signed less than a decade after Confederation and paved the way for colonization of the West and the creation of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The treaty affirms First Nations' rights to self-determination, to protect their lands, resources and water, to practice their language and culture, and to harvest from their territories. For much of the last 150 years, many of these guaranteed rights were ignored as the federal and provincial governments forced Indigenous youth into residential schools where they were denied the right to speak their language and subjected to extreme physical and mental abuse. Many survivors and their descendants continue coping with intergenerational trauma.

The treaty also establishes the Crown's duty to consult First Nations on major projects such as pipelines, highways, data centres, and water-intensive uses — obligations that First Nations have frequently had to enforce through the courts.

With the threat of Alberta separatism and a resurgence of American manifest destiny both weighing on the province, Treaty 6 CEO Kayli Avveduti noted that many non-Indigenous Canadians are coming to understand the importance of the treaties.