{"id":655011,"date":"2026-06-25T00:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=655011"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:48:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:48:34","slug":"native-america-calling-first-nations-challenge-albertas-separation-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/06\/25\/native-america-calling-first-nations-challenge-albertas-separation-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"Native America Calling: First Nations challenge Alberta\u2019s separation drive"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"card mb-2\">\r\n  <div class=\"row\">\r\n    <div class=\"col-md-4 align-self-center\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativeamericacalling.jpg\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"native america calling\"\/>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"col-md-8\">\r\n      <div class=\"card-body\">\r\n        <div class=\"h5-responsive card-title\">Native America Calling<\/div>\r\n        <div>\r\n           Listen to Native America Calling every weekday at 1pm Eastern.\r\n        <\/div>\r\n        <div>\r\n          <!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\r\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-1859-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3\">http:\/\/playerservices.streamtheworld.com\/api\/livestream-redirect\/NV1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\r\n\t\t\tAlternate Links: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nv1.org\/\">Native Voice One<\/a> |\r\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/\">NAC<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, June 25, 2026<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/\"><i class=\"fas fa-link fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling.com<\/a>\r\n&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nativeamericacalling\/\"><i class=\"fab fa-instagram fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling<\/a>\r\n&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nativeamericacalling\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook fa-xs\"><\/i> nativeamericacalling<\/a>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">\r\nFirst Nations challenge Alberta\u2019s separation drive\r\n<\/div>\r\nFirst Nations and M\u00e9tis leaders in Alberta are actively opposing the province\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alberta_separatism\">secession movement<\/a>. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nAlberta will hold a referendum this October on whether to separate from Canada. Premier Danielle Smith is in a war of words with First Nations leaders and faces legal challenges from tribes for pushing forward with the vote. \r\n<p><\/p>\r\nSmith publicly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/edmonton\/alberta-smith-first-nations-chiefs-separation-9.7240147\">admonished tribal leaders to \u201ccheck themselves\u201d<\/a> after the main provincial First Nations chiefs organization said Smith\u2019s actions amounted to \u201ctreason.\u201d So far, the public overwhelmingly opposes separation, but the debate is highlighting a very real question whether the provincial government can actually act on separation in light of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Numbered_Treaties\">historic treaties signed with the British Crown<\/a> long before Alberta was established.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/06\/25\/native-america-calling-first-nations-challenge-albertas-separation-drive\/castlemountain\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-661359\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1356\" data-attachment-id=\"661359\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/06\/25\/native-america-calling-first-nations-challenge-albertas-separation-drive\/castlemountain\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/29\/CastleMountain.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1356\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"Castle Mountain\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Castle Mountain&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Castle Mountain in  Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Photo: &lt;a href=https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Castle_Mountain.jpg&gt;Jakub Fry\u0161&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/29\/CastleMountain.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/29\/CastleMountain.jpg\" alt=\"Castle Mountain\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-661359\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Castle Mountain in  Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Photo: <a href=https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Castle_Mountain.jpg>Jakub Fry\u0161<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Guests on Native America Calling<\/div>\r\nChief Troy Knowlton (Piikani), Chief of the <a href=\"https:\/\/piikanination.com\/\">Piikani Nation<\/a> and president of the Blackfoot Confederacy\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nDanette Starblanket (Star Blanket Cree), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofpublicpolicy.sk.ca\/about\/faculty\/danette-starblanket.php\">assistant professor<\/a> with the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/bmcivor\">Bruce McIvor<\/a> (M\u00e9tis), founder and senior partner at First Peoples Law LLP and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia\u2019s Allard School of Law\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/mattwildcat.ca\/\">Matthew Wildcat<\/a> (Ermineskin Cree), assistant professor and director of Indigenous Governance in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jon-eagle-sr-aa1b4637b\/\">Jon Eagle Sr.<\/a> (Hunkpapa Lakota and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), former tribal historic preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/show\/4RE6juPYr7cl2Zsmb2zjq7?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"232\" frameBorder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\"><\/iframe>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">All Episodes on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/4RE6juPYr7cl2Zsmb2zjq7?si=2a56e59533534bf9\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativeamericacalling.com\/subscribe-to-podcast\/\">More Options<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<img src=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/nativeamericacalling.jpg width=0 height=0 class=invisible>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First Nations and M\u00e9tis leaders are opposing efforts by the province of Alberta to secede from Canada.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":661359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,13,1,14],"tags":[1232,7552,7551,56,7416,5848,243,133,134,754,154,7550],"class_list":["post-655011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canada","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-alberta","tag-bruce-mcivor","tag-danette-starblanket","tag-elections","tag-jon-eagle","tag-matthew-wildcat","tag-media","tag-native-america-calling","tag-radio","tag-standing-rock-sioux","tag-treaties","tag-troy-knowlton","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/29\/CastleMountain.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-2KoH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655011"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":661360,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655011\/revisions\/661360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}