Open Letter to the Chiefs and Councils of the First Nations of Canada

This letter is intended as an open call to action and debate

To the Respected Chiefs and Councils of the First Nations,

For 157 years, we’ve endured life under the oppressive shadow of the Indian Act—legislation that dictates our identities and undermines our sovereignty while systematically controlling our rights. Our history bears painful scars: residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, ongoing child welfare injustices, and generations of broken promises from Ottawa. Despite endless assurances from both Liberal and Conservative governments, we’ve seen nothing more than symbolic gestures and empty rhetoric.

Today, Ottawa owns our lands, controls our resources, and even decides who qualifies as Indigenous. Our economies, autonomy, and futures remain hostage to a system deliberately designed to keep us dependent and compliant.

How long do we intend to wait for this same federal government to grant us sovereignty?

What exactly is the timeline?

Where are the initiatives?

What is our strategy?

Continuing down this path—waiting for Ottawa to legislate our freedom—is unacceptable.

Meanwhile, we stand by and scoff at Alberta’s growing calls for sovereignty and autonomy. Rather than dismiss their efforts, we should recognize this as the opportunity we ourselves have needed for decades. Alberta has drawn a clear line in the sand—something we should have done half a century ago. We hold just as much right to self-determination as Alberta does.

Imagine the possibility of renegotiating the treaties that have been disrespected and violated for 150 years, for Alberta bands that opportunity could have just appeared on the horizon. Do the ideas of genuine land ownership, control over resource rights, autonomy over child welfare, and a self-determined future really sound terrible? Alberta’s quest for sovereignty provides precisely that—a chance for a reset, a genuine new beginning. Yet we remain quick to dismiss this moment, perhaps because we’ve grown tragically accustomed to government oppression.

Why do we hesitate when confronted with our greatest opportunity in generations to redefine our relationship with Canada and/or Alberta?

It’s time to seriously ask ourselves: Is what we’re currently living under the best we can hope for? Or can we envision something greater, something rooted in true self-determination and freedom?

I invite and encourage all responses. Let’s start a real debate. Let’s talk honestly about dismantling the colonial dominion. It’s our responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to future generations who deserve more than a legacy of broken promises.

The time for change has never been clearer. Let’s not miss this chance.

Respectfully,

Darren Grimes

Publisher, Indigenous Opinions