The Last Treaty — Why Indigenous Sovereignty Begins Where Ottawa Ends

The Last Treaty — Why Indigenous Sovereignty Begins Where Ottawa Ends
The Iron Quill
May 10, 2025

They call it “reconciliation.”
They speak of “renewing the nation-to-nation relationship.”
They promise “a better future,” one cheque at a time.
But let’s speak plainly.

There is no nation-to-nation relationship when one side writes the rules, cuts the cheques, and threatens to withhold both when the other steps out of line. That’s not reconciliation.

That’s occupation by paperwork.

And for too long, too many chiefs have played their part in that performance—smiling at federal banquets while their people boil river water at home.

The Colonial Crutch
The Crown doesn’t want Indigenous nations to be sovereign.

It wants them dependent.

It wants them too busy filling out Ottawa’s forms to fight for what’s rightfully theirs.

Too distracted by performative ceremonies and photo ops to realize the trap they’re in.

Ottawa gives just enough to survive—never enough to thrive. And any community that dares to dream bigger is dragged back into the pit by the same bureaucratic claws that claim to be lifting them up.

The Real Threat: A Free Indigenous Bloc
If even a handful of Indigenous nations partnered directly with Alberta or Saskatchewan, the system would shake.

Imagine it:

No more federal middlemen.

No more “consultations” that go nowhere.

No more national energy policy written by bureaucrats who’ve never set foot on Treaty land.

Just direct, sovereign agreements. Land for royalties. Resources for infrastructure. Partnerships forged in freedom—not imposed by Ottawa.

That’s not just independence.

That’s dangerous—to the establishment.

Because if Indigenous people can thrive without Ottawa, it exposes the lie at the heart of Canada’s national myth: that the federal government is the only path to progress.

The Resistance Within
But beware—there are those who will fight hardest to keep things exactly as they are.

Not the colonizers of 1867.

But the administrators of today.

The chiefs, consultants, and federally funded NGOs who make their living off your poverty.

Who claim to represent the people but never ask the people what they want.

Who scream about sovereignty—until it threatens their federal salaries.

These are the new Indian Agents.

And they’ll call you the traitor if you dare to leave the system.

The Treaty of the People

So what now?
It’s time for a new kind of treaty.

Not between nations and a monarch who’s never seen these lands.

But between peoples—the free men and women of the First Nations, and the farmers, ranchers, and workers of the West.

A Treaty of the People.

A pact of mutual respect.

Of shared resources.

Of self-governance, not subservience.

Because Indigenous sovereignty doesn’t threaten Alberta’s future—it secures it. And Alberta’s independence doesn’t diminish First Nations—it amplifies them.

Together, they don’t divide this land.

They redeem it.

A Final Word to the People Ottawa Forgot
To the brave warriors who carry their people’s burdens in silence:

You are not alone.

You are not weak.

And you are not bound to Ottawa forever.

Stand up.

Speak out.

And when they say you’ve broken with tradition, remind them—

No treaty was ever signed to keep you shackled.

The last one…

will be written in freedom.

—The Iron Quill

Because true reconciliation starts with resistance.