Indigenous Alberta: Treaties, Nations and Community

About Alberta

Alberta runs from the Rocky Mountains and foothills in the west across prairie and parkland to the boreal forest of the north. According to Indigenous Services Canada, 45 First Nations live within the province, covered by three historic agreements: Treaty 6 across the centre, Treaty 7 in the south and Treaty 8 in the north. Widely spoken First Nations languages include Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Chipewyan, Tsuut’ina (Sarcee) and Stoney Nakoda. The Blackfoot Confederacy nations have deep roots on the southern plains. Alberta is also distinctive for its eight Métis Settlements, established after the 1938 Métis Population Betterment Act on about 1.25 million acres, which remain the only secure Métis land base in Canada. More than 114,000 Métis people call the province home. Edmonton, on the North Saskatchewan River, is the capital, while Calgary sits where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet.

Alberta history

Before the fur trade, the Kainai, Piikani, Gros Ventre, Ktunaxa and Crow lived on the southern plains. The Tsuut'ina, Dane-zaa, Cree, Assiniboine, Stoney, Denesuline and Slavey lived across the centre and north. UNESCO says people hunted bison at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump for close to 6,000 years, until around 1850. Hunters drove herds along lanes marked with stone cairns toward a cliff about 10 metres high. Peter Pond built the first trading post on the Athabasca River in 1778, and Fort Chipewyan followed in 1788. Canada acquired the Hudson's Bay Company lands on June 23, 1870. Treaty 6 was made in 1876. A year later, on September 22, 1877, leaders gathered at Blackfoot Crossing on the Bow River to conclude Treaty 7. The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that its First Nation signatories understood it as a peace treaty, not a land surrender. Treaty 8 followed on June 21, 1899, at Lesser Slave Lake, after the Klondike gold rush raised Ottawa's interest in the north. A scrip commission dealt with Métis claims at the same time. Settlers arrived quickly after that. The non-Indigenous population grew from about 1,000 in 1881 to 373,943 by 1911. Alberta became a province on September 1, 1905, with Edmonton chosen as capital over Calgary. Ottawa kept control of its Crown lands and resources until 1930.

Treaty and territory

Alberta lies within the lands of Treaties 6, 7 and 8, and is home to Cree, Dene, Blackfoot (Siksikaitsitapi), Tsuut’ina, Stoney Nakoda and Métis people, including the only recognized Métis land base in Canada, the Metis Settlements. Northern and central Alberta share Treaty 6 with Saskatoon, where XUSI started.

Nearby: Edmonton · Calgary · Siksika Nation · Tsuut’ina Nation · Maskwacîs · Lloydminster

Regions of Alberta

Alberta spans three physiographic regions. The Cordillera rises in the southwest, the Interior Plains cover most of the province, and the Canadian Shield reaches the far northeast. The plains shift from prairie grassland in the south to aspen parkland in the middle and boreal forest in the north. The treaties follow a similar north-south pattern. Treaty 7 covers southern Alberta, home to the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Stoney Nakoda and Tsuut'ina. Treaty 6 crosses the central parkland, the historic land of the Cree. Treaty 8 takes in most of northern Alberta. It is the largest treaty by area in Canadian history, about 841,487 square kilometres across four provinces and territories. Alberta's Métis also map onto the land through the Otipemisiwak districts, which range from Peace River Territory to urban districts in Edmonton and Calgary. The Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association acknowledges Treaty 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10 territories in its work. It also names the Métis districts and settlements alongside them.

Indigenous Alberta today

The provincial government lists 17 First Nations in Treaty 6, seven in Treaty 7 and 24 in Treaty 8. In the north, the Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council brings together Loon River Cree Nation, Lubicon Lake Band and Peerless Trout First Nation. Métis governance in Alberta goes back to 1928. Today it is carried on by the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, which says it is moving toward self-government. Its districts, from Peace River Territory to Calgary Nose Hill, run their own councils and community events, including jigging lessons. An advisory Kahsketakihk Council of Elders and Knowledge Keepers supports its work. Affiliated bodies include Métis Crossing, the Rupertsland Institute and Apeetogosan. The Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association formed in 1970 to support centres in urban, rural and remote towns. It says about 70 per cent of Alberta's Indigenous people live off-reserve or off-settlement. Its member centres log more than 700,000 points of service every year. During the Calgary Stampede, members of Treaty 7 First Nations host Elbow River Camp. Visitors walk among painted tipis and watch interpreters make dried meat, bannock and Saskatoonberry soup. At Head-Smashed-In, Blackfoot-speaking guides lead every interpretive and education program.

Life in Alberta

Oil defines modern Alberta. Turner Valley's field was found in 1914, and the strike at Leduc in February 1947 transformed the economy. The first commercial oil sands operation opened in 1967. The province is also strongly urban, with 82.3 per cent of residents living in cities and towns in 2021. Most of the land lies in the Interior Plains, running from grassland in the south through parkland to boreal forest. The Rockies of the Cordillera rise in the southwest, and a corner of Canadian Shield reaches the northeast. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is the south's best-known heritage site. It became a National Historic Site in 1968 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. The protected area covers 3,626 hectares where the foothills meet the Great Plains. Its visitor centre is built right into the cliff, and archaeologists have studied deep layers of bone and old butchering camps below it.

Alberta seasons and weather

Chinook winds can bring sudden thaws to southern Alberta in midwinter, but cold snaps return just as fast, and the north stays frozen for months. Layering a tee under a hoodie with a warm hat handles the quick swings.

Communities in Alberta

• Edmonton
• Calgary
• Lethbridge
• Red Deer
• Grande Prairie
• Fort McMurray
• St. Albert
• Spruce Grove
• Airdrie
• Medicine Hat
• Cold Lake
• Wetaskiwin

Keep learning in the XUSI Journal

• The Numbered Treaties, Explained
• Nêhiyawêwin: A Beginner's Guide to the Cree Language
• First Nations, Métis and Inuit: What’s the Difference?
• How to Write a Land Acknowledgement That Means Something
• All Journal articles

Alberta questions