With the threat of separatism from Canada and annexation by the United States, persistent treaty violations, fast-tracked resource development projects, and ongoing societal issues, the present moment in Alberta is "one of the most troubling times in my lifetime for First Nations people", according to Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Chief Sheldon Sunshine.

Alberta First Nations won a temporary stay of reprieve in April when Justice Shaina Leonard effectively paused the process of separatism in the western Canadian province. The chief electoral officer has been prevented from green lighting a vote until a ruling on whether such a referendum would be constitutional that is expected by May 2.

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Blackfoot Confederacy, and Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation have all sought to challenge separatist groups like Stay Free Alberta in the courts, and whilst Chief Sunshine is confident that at least one of the challenges brought by these three First Nations will succeed, there is little faith that the provincial government, led by Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party (UCP) will act in good faith.

Western alienation is fuelled in large part by concerns that the federal government in Ottawa, oftentimes a centre to centre-left Liberal one, is unresponsive to Alberta's economic desires.

Stacking the deck for a breakaway referendum

The day after Mark Carney's Liberals won the federal election in May 2025, the UCP introduced Bill 54, lowering the threshold for citizens' petitions to go to a public vote, from roughly 588,000 (or 20 percent of eligible voters) to less than 178,000 (10 percent of people who voted in the previous election), and increasing the time available to gather signatures from 90 to 120 days.

When Justice Colin Feasby ruled in December 2025 that such a vote was not compatible with Canada's constitutional set up, the UCP passed Bill 14, removing stipulations for constitutional propriety. In March, Jason Stephan, the UCP parliamentary secretary for constitutional affairs, called on Albertans to sign the referendum petition.

Furthermore, while Ms Smith claims to support a "sovereign Alberta within a united Canada," during April's court hearing, several First Nations chiefs and lawyers saw Jeffrey Rath, Stay Free Alberta's lawyer, in discussions with government lawyers.

"They are collaborating with these folks and accommodating them, they're bending over backwards for this separatist group," Chief Sunshine told National Indigenous Times.

"I saw Jeff Rath and the chief electoral officer's legal going to one of the empty courtrooms together. It was concerning, but there's that expectation now, we feel that hey are working together to try to get this petition and this referendum done. They haven't denied it."

Majority of Albertans favour remaining part of Canada

Separatism is supported by a loud minority (a poll from late February found nearly two thirds were against the idea) but with the suspected backing of not only those within Alberta's government, but external elements looking to break up Canada.

The country has been attempting to diversify away from the US after President Trump threatened to annex Canada, threatening "economic force" to attack Canadian sovereignty.

Various American government officials, legislators, and media have all spoken glowingly of turning Alberta in the 51st state. What's more, going against the grain of her fellow provincial leaders, Ms Smith has been friendly with the Trump administration, spending over C$10,000 to visit then president-elect Trump in Florida and refusing to participate in joint retaliatory measures against the US.

'A very dangerous time'

Chief Sunshine raised the alarm about the spectre of US involvement in Alberta, drawing comparisons to the foreign adventurism in Venezuela, Iran, and Greenland, and highlighting the meetings between Alberta separatists and White House officials.

"These things are real," he told National Indigenous Times.

"When we see the separatist issue and their conversations with the US, we're concerned. We've been tracking this for some time, and we see that this is a very dangerous time for all people in Alberta and Canada, and then we have this separatist agenda."

The very idea of Alberta separatism going to a public vote with the support of the provincial government goes to the crux of over a century of treaty violations. The original treaties with the Crown predate the establishment of the province of Alberta, and the very nature of Albertan independence would contravene those treaties.

"A lot of people think, our treaty was signed a long time ago, some of the commentary that we hear is 'why don't we get over it'? When this separatist agenda is coming through, all we see in social media is that we ceded and surrendered our lands, that we don't have a say, we'll get a vote just like everybody else. Our position is not that," Chief Sunshine explained.

"History favours the one who documents it. But our people have this understanding [of the treaty] that's been passed on from generation to generation from our Elders. The understanding at the time was that we were signing a document where we're going to share the land and allow colonisation and settlers into our territories with our understanding."

Treaties at risk

Subsequent governments have used the written English text of the treaties (at a time when Albertan First Nations didn't understand English) to ride roughshod over Indigenous concerns.

"When these types of challenges come up, we've always been vocal about it, and more so in the last three and a half or four years here since I've been chief. Our position is that this treaty is a living document, and the lack of understanding or the refusal of the governments to accept that or uphold those understandings is really where the discrepancy in our communities comes from," Chief Sunshine said.

"The majority of our people are not in favour [of the referendum], but we've been dealing with a lot of treaty issues, violations for a long time. We deal with a lot of social issues, poverty, lack of housing, lack of opportunities in our territory, and that comes from these treaties and legislation."

Alberta's 'gap' shows no signs of closing

Those discrepancies mean Indigenous Albertans have a life expectancy 19 years lower than their non-Indigenous peers, and it is a gap in life outcomes that Chief Sunshine worries will only increase. That is to say nothing of the potential environmental ramifications of proposed megaprojects championed by both the conservative Albertan government and the federal Liberals looking to fast track "nation-building" projects.

Chief Sunshine cited the Wander Valley AI data centre, a proposed megaproject located close to Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and championed by former Conservative leadership candidate Kevin O'Leary (who accompanied Smith on her trip to Mar-a-Lago) as a prime example of the province shirking its environmental responsibilities.

Then there is a proposed nuclear power plant with a 20-year lithium deposit bordering the reserve, a major West coast pipeline, and an oil spill 100 kilometres to the south of Sturgeon Lake that is still leaking, nine months after first being reported.

"There is so much going on within our nation, and if we're not tracking it, then they just go ahead and do these things," Chief Sunshine said.

"They want us to support some of those projects, and then yet they're just doing a lot of things in the background trying to get around."

Whilst not downplaying the threat of separatism, the juxtaposition of the Albertan government's seemingly contradictory actions was laid bare by Chief Sunshine.

"So, when it comes to the separatist agenda, I just feel that it's a smokescreen to get your attention off of all of these other things that are going to have significant impacts on us."

Thomas Law is a freelance reporter based in Canada