'What's going to happen to us?' At this powwow, a sense of threat shapes views of Alberta independence

'What's going to happen to us?' At this powwow, a sense of threat shapes views of Alberta independence

CBC News has been seeking out different communities to understand what’s shaping their vote

When Fran Calf Robe heard about Alberta’s separation debate, she was confused and sought out an elder.

“I had a lot of questions … like, what's going to happen to us?” she said. “What's happening to our next generation of kids and families if we're separated. What's going to happen to our homes, our way of life?”

“It was a very confusing, scary feeling to go through.”

Calf Robe is a Siksika Nation member; she took a break from watching competitive dancing at a powwow in Lethbridge, Alta., recently to speak with CBC News as we set out to learn how Indigenous people in the province feel about the upcoming referendum.

Leading up to the Oct. 19 vote, CBC News is talking with different communities and demographics, trying to understand why people feel the way they do.

Follow all of our Alberta referendum coverage

We spent the day at the Siksikaitsitapi powwow in Lethbridge this August and spoke with at least a dozen people. All but two were against separation — pointing to the treaties, their love of their culture and a feeling that this is threatened by the current debate.

Generally, there was a sense of being under attack, and also a sense of fighting back, with one powwow organizer saying the Alberta premier opened a door with this referendum and risks bringing on a major lawsuit.

Calf Robe is also a teacher who lives in Lethbridge, and grew up living off the land. She said she came to the powwow to celebrate her culture and feels like the talk of separatism is a threat, even if she can’t define exactly what she fears will happen.

“We don't like it,” she said. “We're very uncomfortable with it because we cherish what we were taught, especially with the land. And this is our land.”

Treaty concerns dominate the debate

In Lethbridge, the Blackfoot Confederacy powwow filled the hall at Whoop-Up Days. Drum groups surrounded the dance floor, where the tiny tots, jingle dress and fancy dancers competed. Women, men, young girls and boys danced until one was crowned the champion.

It’s a social event, not a ceremony, said one announcer as he kicked off the event.

In Alberta, First Nations leaders have been some of the most vocal opponents of separatism, and for months they tried to block a vote on independence through the courts.

Alberta independence group releases its ‘transition plan’ to become a country

Some separatist leaders have argued the treaties would carry on if Alberta separates, and that an independent Alberta would give more economic freedom to First Nations.

But at the Lethbridge powwow, many people weren’t even entertaining the discussion.

Gigi Black stepped outside the noisy hall to share her views. She was raised off reserve before moving back to the Piikani Nation. She married a Navajo man and has been making and selling jewelry for the 38 years since.

She said there’s nothing the separatist leaders could say that would convince her to change her mind.

“I'm totally against it. This is treaty land, not only for our ancestors, but for the native people that are here today,” she said. “We have our culture, our traditions, and separation would be like taking our culture away from us. A lot of people are against it.”

But there were a few people at the event who are interested in independence.

Grandmother says independence could be positive

Lana Blood is from the Piikani Nation and lives in Brocket, Alta., about 70 kilometres southwest of Lethbridge. She previously worked in medical transportation and is now helping to raise her grandchildren.

Blood said she’ll likely vote "yes" to explore separation because she thinks if Alberta could use its oil and gas revenues to support people without sending so much to Ottawa, it would make life better here.

And she said it could be good to rethink the treaties, and perhaps change the way reserves are run.

“I'm looking for a positive change for my children, my grandchildren,” she said. “I don't know how the reserves are helping because I live on a reserve and … I just think that they would be better if it was run like a town.”

“When I look online, I'm again in the minority but, you know, I'm not one to follow the crowd.”

Opposed to this independence pitch, not any pitch

The treaties were signed with the Crown before Alberta was created as a province. In modern times, they’ve been used to protect hunting and fishing rights, and to increase environmental protection.

Matthew Wildcat is an associate professor who studies Indigenous governance at the University of Alberta and a member of Ermineskin Cree Nation in central Alberta. He says First Nations view these treaties as a system of shared governance over traditional territories — land their communities lived on that goes far beyond their current reserves.

In their court case, First Nations chiefs have argued that separation would infringe on their treaty rights because their traditional territories span provincial boundaries.

But the issue is broader than that, he said.

“Treaties as land agreements and First Nations continuing to have some kind of shared sovereignty over our traditional territories are widely held beliefs in First Nations communities. [That’s why] it is such an affront that Alberta has given itself the unilateral authority to initiate a separation process.”

Wildcat said in his experience treaty rights are almost always top of mind for First Nations members when they talk about separation, and opposition to separation is so high, he hasn’t personally met any Indigenous people in Alberta who support it.

But it’s a different opposition than he finds among non-Indigenous Albertans. Many of them react emotionally to the idea of separation because they feel Canadian, he said — it’s part of their sense of self.

Wildcat said many Indigenous people in the province feel Canadian, too, but they also have a strong sense of being Cree, Dene or Blackfoot, for example. Their identity is tied to their communities.

That means often Indigenous people in Alberta aren’t against the idea of separation in principle, just the way it’s been handled this time, he said.

“There could be a scenario where an Alberta separatist movement was founded on a belief that land should be returned to Indigenous peoples, and Indigenous nations should gain much greater jurisdictional voice and influence over areas of shared concern,” he said.

“But that's not what's on offer.”

Concerned about losing a federal ‘backstop’

CBC News also stopped by a powwow at Enoch, outside of Edmonton, and at a Treaty 6 anniversary commemoration event in Fort Pitt, Sask., and asked more Indigenous community members what is shaping the way they’ll vote.

Shayla Watson is an aquatic ecologist from Atikameg (Whitefish Lake) First Nation who spoke with CBC News at the Enoch powwow. She said she’s opposed to separation because of the division it’s caused, and because she worries what will happen if federal environmental regulations no longer apply.

“I'm not anti-industry in any way. I believe that it's a thing that we can work on together,” she said. “But not having that federal backstop of another layer of consultation … that's really scary to me.

“I think about what could happen if Alberta was able to just steamroll industry ahead without having a federal backstop. … And then on the other side, so much of the money that we get to help our environment comes from industry. If we were to leave Canada, that would affect our industry and then we wouldn't have as much money. We have to have things like Jasper National Park and Banff National Park and Elk Island.”

At the Fort Pitt event, held just across the boundary with Saskatchewan, Taylor Dumais had the same desire to move past the division and find unity.

Dumais is a housing manager for Edmonton 2 Spirit Society and a member of Kehewin Cree Nation. She said what people miss is that the fight for treaty rights is one that benefits everyone.

“It stops the government from coming in and pillaging the land even more than it already has,” she said.

Dumais said she’s hopeful more people will speak up and vote for what they believe in, and that important conversations will happen.

“I may be Indigenous, but I'm also Albertan, right? I'm also Canadian,” she said. “I reside on these lands and after 150 years of treaty, we're still trying to see eye to eye. I think that those conversations need to happen quicker so that we can get to a better solution that benefits everybody, not just the select few at the top.”

Elise Stolte runs project-based engagement efforts for the CBC Calgary newsroom. She has 20 years of experience telling the stories of her community and has been recognized for feature writing, social impact and community-based journalism. You can reach her at elise.stolte@cbc.ca.