Smith’s comments comparing Ottawa’s treatment of Alberta to Indigenous experience prompts criticism

Treaty 6 chiefs say they have concluded that Premier Danielle Smith neither respects nor understands treaty rights and Indigenous history after hearing comments she made in the Alberta legislature Tuesday.

Smith compared the treatment of Alberta by the federal government to Canada’s treatment of Indigenous people under the Indian Act — a comment that has left Indigenous leaders and others feeling frustrated and angry.

“This is all about making sure Ottawa stays out of our jurisdiction,” Smith said as she addressed the legislative assembly. “The way I’ve described it to the chiefs that I’ve spoken with is that they have fought a battle over the last number of years to get sovereignty respected and to extract themselves from the paternalistic Indian Act.

“We get treated the exact same way from Ottawa. They interfere in our jurisdiction all the time and we look forward to pushing back and being treated exactly like Quebec.”

Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation issued a statement to Global News on Wednesday in response to Smith’s comments.

“We know this not to be true,” he said. “I want Premier Smith to focus on our concerns about the sovereignty act, rather than try to use our people in her fight against Ottawa.”

“It was clear from our discussions that Premier Smith does not understand treaty or our inherent rights, nor does she respect them,” read a statement issued by Treaty 6 chiefs on Tuesday.

It just so happened that the provincial government had a meeting with treaty chiefs scheduled for the day after Smith made her comments. The meeting was scheduled before she became premier and was not one intended to be a sit-down about her sovereignty act.

Last week, the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act was passed in the legislature. The legislation was introduced by Smith as a way for her government to push back whenever it believes the federal government has overreached into provincial jurisdiction and does something it believes harms Alberta’s interest.

First Nations chiefs have criticized the premier for not consulting with them before passing the legislation.

Following Wednesday’s meeting, the chiefs wrote in a statement that the meeting did not constitute a proper consultation with their nations on matters of mutual concern.

They said the invitation during the…