The Calgary Stampede starts Friday under a cloud of hostility between First Nations and the Alberta government, according to columnist Don Braid in the Calgary Herald. Indigenous culture is a huge part of the Stampede's enduring success, woven into the very fabric of the event. Respect hasn't always worked both ways, but every provincial government for decades has helped foster good relations. Now, bad blood threatens to shatter the relationship.
Separatism Petition Sparks Tensions
This is yet another toxic side effect of the United Conservative Party (UCP) push for a separatism question in the Oct. 19 ballots. The thought of an independent Alberta is so appalling to First Nations that the assembly of chiefs for Treaties 6, 7 and 8 asked the RCMP to investigate Premier Danielle Smith for treason. That was a shocking gesture, meant to show how profoundly dangerous separatism is to First Nations and their Treaties. It was also symbolic — the chiefs don't really expect to see Smith in the slammer.
But the move brought a fierce wave of racism down on Indigenous people. Many hardcore separatists believe Treaty rights are a mere annoyance that can simply be brushed aside. In fact, they are agreements signed long before Alberta became a province.
Government Response Escalates Conflict
Smith and her people had a decision to make. They could swallow the insult and strive to calm the waters, while making their anger clear through private channels. Or they could hit back. They could use the moment to demean First Nations and please the separatists. Which they promptly did. Bruce McAllister, the executive director of Smith's office, came out with a post that couldn't have been more insulting.
He said: "People are sick and tired of hearing unrealistic demands from them (First Nations). It might be tolerable if their communities were beacons of prosperity, safety, strong families and real accountability but, sadly, they're anything but. On too many Alberta First Nations, their own people face devastating addiction and overdose crises tearing families apart: Kids removed into care at shocking rates; Entrenched poverty, high unemployment and welfare traps; housing issues for their people."
Smith did not disown McAllister's tirade. That is classic anti-Indigenous paternalism, coming from an official whose own government oversees a province rife with drugs, overdose crises, family violence, high youth unemployment, rural crime, homelessness and poverty. The very day McAllister posted his attack, Braid reports seeing four people folded over from fentanyl doses in a single downtown city block, none of whom were Indigenous.
Impact on Stampede Tradition
This hostility deeply unsettles the Stampede, where First Nations members in regalia ride horseback in the parade and Indigenous culture is celebrated. The tradition of Indigenous participation, a cornerstone of the event, now faces an uncertain future amid escalating political tensions.
