For National Indigenous History Month in June, I invited you to deepen your understanding around Treaty. For the 150th anniversary of Treaty No. 6 in August 2026, I invite you to further your understanding of Treaty Relations.
Earlier this year, news stories shared that a delegation of Treaty 6 chiefs visited his Majesty King Charles III in March, and a delegation from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in June. Both delegations invited King Charles to be present at the 150th Anniversary of Treaty No. 6 celebrations. These visits continue a long history of international and Treaty relations between First Nations and the Crown. In the AFN Press Release, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse shared that “As Treaty partners, the Crown and First Nations have perpetual obligations to uphold under the sacred protocols of Treaty.” She continued, “First Nations leadership again communicated to the King the international status of the Crown-First Nations Treaty relationship. No third party can interfere or change the sacred Treaty relationship or change how First Nations choose to relate to Canada or to the Crown. We are grateful to His Majesty for the opportunity to meet him. First Nations have always been honourable Treaty partners. We look forward to an ongoing relationship grounded in Treaty, as well as free prior and informed consent and the right to self-determination.”
Fifty years ago, in 1976, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II also hosted a delegation of Alberta chiefs. The 1976 visit was to invite Her Majesty to participate in the 100th anniversary celebrations of Treaty No. 6 and was significant because it had been only three years since the Queen had formally responded to a speech delivered by the late Harold Cardinal (‘99 LLD, Honorary), President of the Alberta Indian Association. Cardinal, author of the book, The Unjust Society: The Tragedy of Canada’s Indians (1969), and contributing author to Citizens Plus, The Red Paper (1970) had delivered a strong speech to Queen Elizabeth on July 5, 1973, when she was on tour in Canada to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the RCMP. The Queen responded to Cardinal’s speech and the visit with chiefs from Treaties 6, 7, and 8, stating that "her government recognized the importance of full compliance with the spirit and intent of treaties" (as reported in 2009 by Judith Lavoie).
The Indian Association of Alberta published a book called The Spirit and Terms of Your Treaties to record the significance of the July 1973 visit. The 1973 book details that while the public witnessed the pageantry of the Hobbema Youth Marching Band and dancers from Smallboy’s camp, the true weight of the meeting occurred within the mishahi-okimaw-mikiwap (the large central teepee). Here, the meeting known as nahiskâtowin, deliberate engagement between the Queen and the Chiefs affirmed that First Nations were not subjects, but sovereign equals engaging with a foreign head of state. This July meeting was the first time since the treaties were signed that First Nations spoke directly with a monarch, the great granddaughter of Queen Victoria who was the monarch when the treaties were first signed. The book further suggests that this meeting was the first time that First Nations felt heard by a monarch and the Crown.
As you reflect on the visits between First Nations and the current monarch alongside the visits between First Nations and the late Queen Elizabeth II, you are invited to read quotes from portions of the speeches that were delivered by Harold Cardinal, on behalf of the Indian Association of Alberta and by Queen Elizabeth II, as recorded in “The Spirit and Terms of Your Treaties”. In your reading of these quotes, I invite you to imagine the ways that these words might contribute to your actions as a human who lives, works or studies, and plays on these lands that are Treaty lands.
Partial message from the Indian Association of Alberta:
Our Treaties are agreements by two peoples to share their skills, their knowledge and their tools as each was enriched by the appearance of new eras. The Treaties are agreements by two peoples living in separate realities to build for their children a better and more beautiful way of life. … We believe it to be an historic occasion that we who have a special status under the Treaties should meet formally, for the first time with the Sovereign Queen who is our Treaty partner. Since the Treaties were signed, the span of almost a century has brought many changes to this land. Changes that are called progress. These changes, however, have seldom meant progress for Indian people. … We believe that a fundamental step towards solving the problems of the Indian people is for both parties to the Treaties to reaffirm their intention to uphold and respect the terms of the Treaties signed in good faith so many years ago. (page 8)
Partial response by Queen Elizabeth II:
You may be confident of the continued cooperation of my government which represents your people as it represents all of the people of Canada. You may be assured that my government recognizes the importance of full compliance with the spirit and terms of your treaties. (page 9).
Learn More
- Visit the Treaty No. 6 150th Anniversary display in the south foyer of University Commons.
- View the U of A Museum’s Art Collection new online exhibition: From These Lands: Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of Treaty No. 6.
- Review the resources found in the Treaty library guide prepared by the U of A Library.
- Read The Spirit and Terms of Your Treaties written by the Indian Association of Alberta, 1973, published by the Indian Association of Alberta and available through U of A Library.
- Read Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969, known as “The White Paper.”
- Read Citizens Plus, The Red Paper. (1970)
- Watch the 2021 video documentary of the 50th Anniversary of Citizens Plus The Red Paper prepared by the Wahkohtowin Law & Governance Lodge (WLGL) in the Faculty of Law.
- Read The Unjust Society: The Tragedy of Canada’s Indians, by Harold Cardinal - available through U of A Library.