Ten things to know about Indigenous people and resource extr

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Ten things to know about Indigenous people and resource extraction in Alberta

[ http://www.parklandinstitute.ca/ten_thi ... in_alberta ]

Jun 21, 2017 [ * * * Numerous LINKS on original site * * * * ]

In February, the government of Alberta signed a ten-year framework agreement with the Métis Nation of Alberta, emphasizing a relationship based on recognition, respect, and cooperation. In March, Alberta and the Blackfoot Confederacy signed a protocol agreement on how they will work together on economic development and other areas of concern to both parties. These agreements, of course, are only two of many instances of Indigenous people in the mainstream media recently.

In December and January, the government of Canada faced challenges from Indigenous youth and leaders on pipeline development. And in January, actress Jane Fonda came to Alberta in solidarity with Indigenous political leaders to express concern over the oil industry, new pipeline developments, and the irreparable environmental destruction to the boreal forest and waters in Indigenous traditional territories where the oil sands industry operates.

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation expressed disappointment that the Alberta government is still approving new oil projects and that his "people are still being diagnosed with cancer at an alarming rate ... [Neither] the federal [nor] the provincial government has done anything [in] regards to a health study that we keep lobbying for. Nor does industry want this health study to commence."

In February, Indigenous people also made news with a court decision that finds Canada liable for harm caused by the removal of Indigenous children from their homes between 1965 and 1984 and placed in non-Indigenous care, and again regarding frustration over delays to begin the process of an inquiry into Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. In March, many publicly expressed outrage at a Canadian Senator’s comments that residential schools were "well-intentioned."

These events and contestations are all happening roughly a year after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report. As a result of decades of work by Indigenous political leaders, lawyers, educators, and activists, Indigenous rights and issues seem to be gaining increasing recognition in provincial and federal politics, economics, and the courts.

In Alberta, where resource extraction is a factor in many areas of political, economic, and everyday community relations, it is important to understand how Indigenous rights and issues interact with the oil industry and the provincial government, especially given the power and influence the industry has in the province.

In this blog, we discuss 10 key facts that all Albertans should be aware of as we work to understand and evaluate these ongoing events.

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[ http://www.parklandinstitute.ca/ten_thi ... in_alberta ]