EDMONTON—Miranda Jimmy knew the relationship between Alberta’s provincial government and Indigenous communities was going to change the moment Jason Kenney started his election night victory speech.

“Rachel Notley started her concession speech acknowledging Treaty 6 (which covers Edmonton) and Jason Kenney started his speech saying, ‘Alberta, we’re open for business,’ ” said the co-founder of Reconciliation in Solidarity Edmonton (RISE), an Indigenous reconciliation group in Edmonton.

“So I thought that was automatically a shift on Indigenous relations.”

Kenney, Alberta’s new United Conservative premier, is markedly different from his New Democrat predecessor in his governing style, policies and public speaking. Among the differences are each leader’s approach to land acknowledgments, the practice of publicly referring to treaty relationships that has become common among political leaders across Canada. While Notley would acknowledge the Treaty land she was on or which Indigenous geographic area she was in for almost all her speeches as premier and on the campaign trail, Kenney seems to have abandoned the practice.

In all of his public speaking engagements Star Edmonton has attended since March — including his election victory speech, his first press conference after winning the election and his first public cabinet address — Kenney hasn’t made a land acknowledgement.

He occasionally mentioned Indigenous issues more generally: In late April, after his swearing in as premier at Government House in Edmonton, Kenney said “we honour the first people to build communities on this land.”

Read more:

Treaty 8 First Nations slam Jason Kenney’s proposal to sell crown land in Peace Country

Jason Kenney teases UCP platform: Selling Crown land and period of ‘fiscal responsibility’

Where do Alberta’s parties stand on Indigenous issues?

“This new government commits itself to the path of reconciliation and shared prosperity in the spirit of the treaties,” he said.

But advocates say regular acknowledgments are a show of respect and a move toward reconciliation with Indigenous communities that were affected by European colonization, the Sixties Scoop and residential schools, though they are sometimes criticized as a way to pay lip service to Indigenous issues without dedicating time and intent to help. The practice became widely used across Canada after 2015 when the 94 calls to action were put out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which looked at the history of residential schools and colonization in the country.

Alberta is covered by three Treaty agreements signed in the late 1800s, Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8. The agreements are wide ranging, but essentially saw Indigenous groups and the Crown attempting to live harmoniously on the land.

Aaron Paquette, an Edmonton city councillor of Métis and Cree descent, said land acknowledgments play a critical role in showing how politicians see the world they govern.

“To acknowledge Treaty is to acknowledge that responsibility to each other, to acknowledge the obligations that we have to each other that weren’t always fulfilled, and to reaffirm that we are willing to do better for this generation and generations to come,” he said.

For Paquette, having a premier who makes land acknowledgments before legislative sessions or public engagements shows they recognize that they have neighbours and that they understand the history behind that relationship with Indigenous peoples.

“When you don’t do that, you are saying the opposite,” he said.

Jimmy says it’s somewhat of a litmus test for Indigenous communities to gauge a politician’s intentions, and it isn’t so much about the words being spoken but “how are we living into the words that we’re saying.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

She said it’s “almost appropriate” the UCP government doesn’t make land acknowledgments because she doesn’t believe the intent to act on reconciliation is there.

When Star Edmonton emailed the government asking why Kenney chooses not to make land acknowledgments, Christine Myatt, the government’s deputy director of communications, didn’t answer the question directly, but said Kenney “is excited to meet with Indigenous leaders.”

“We are putting a strong focus on creating meaningful partnerships,” Myatt said.

Kenney’s UCP platform during the April election made few mentions of Indigenous issues in Alberta. There was the habitat-protection Caribou Draft Plan, some increased support for Indigenous children with disabilities, and a large amount of support for Indigenous communities who wanted in on energy projects.

“Our aim is to get Alberta’s economy back on track,” Myatt said of the government’s vision.

“One of our key priorities is to establish the Aboriginal Opportunities Corporation, which will provide Indigenous communities access to capital, and remove a barrier to their ownership of important resource projects.”

Paquette noted that there can be economic reasons for politicians to shy away from land acknowledgments — because included in treaties signed between Indigenous peoples and the Crown was the promise that their health and prosperity would be tended to. Indigenous peoples of the past gave up vast amounts of resource wealth, he said.

“That was why they signed the treaties in the first place, to ensure their generations would be equal and well cared for and allowed the freedom to live their life,” he said.

“Of course, that didn’t happen, and so why would you want to acknowledge a Treaty that you’re not fulfilling?”

He pointed to the ongoing Trans Mountain pipeline debate between B.C. and Alberta as an example. With some Indigenous groups in Alberta being pro-pipeline and many in B.C. being opposed, Paquette said that if a politician acknowledges Treaty rights in one province, they’re effectively acknowledging all Treaties in Canada.

But he says land acknowledgments also show a politician’s understanding of Canada’s history more broadly, and also signal to Indigenous peoples a desire for better relations going forward.

“Because either people are going to pass trauma from generation to generation or they’re going to pass healing. Part of healing is acknowledgement, that’s a simple fact,” he said.

Read more about: