On April 9, 2026, the Blackfoot Confederacy Chiefs met with Premier Danielle Smith and several provincial Ministers in accordance with the provisions of the Protocol Agreement, initially entered into in 2017 and subsequently renewed in 2019. The Protocol Agreement was entered into with the intent of establishing a “productive working relationship based on areas of mutual interest, collaboration and cooperation” and further to establish a means to review and discuss issues of common interest and concern, that would lead to actions to improve social and economic outcomes for Blackfoot Confederacy First Nations. The Protocol Agreement sets out the creation of several tables through which to address issues such as Economic Development; Culture and Language; Social; Political & Legal Issues. Within each of these four main areas a number of sub tables exist to address specific areas such as Justice, Education, and Health. The parties wished to establish the means to convene to discuss and to resolve issues of common interest and concern; the Protocol Agreement gives them the mechanism to do that.
The Blood Tribe took this as an opportunity to advance some of its concerns with the Province. In the Tribe’s address to the Premier and Ministers leadership spoke candidly and to the point. Chief Aakaayaamihtsinima, Travis Plaited Hair, emphasized the importance of value-based leadership, in particular the practices of ethics, compassion and accountability. He also stressed the importance of relationship building as a means to address the many pressing community issues he referenced. Council Member, Kirby Many Fingers, spoke to current Justice issues and initiatives that could benefit from collaboration and cooperation including restorative justice and Corrections. He addressed long-standing water issues and the matter of Children’s Services and the requirement for the province’s cooperation in furthering the Tribe’s initiative in assuming jurisdiction over child and family matters. Dorothy First Rider, Tribal Government Committee Chairperson, spoke to various issues including Health, the hospital issue, the need to address the disparity in health
measures, the high incidence of diabetes and drug addiction. She spoke extensively on the need for meaningful consultations, as set by court precedents, where policy and undertakings stand to impact First Nation rights and jurisdictions such as the Sovereignty/Separatist Issue. This issue is currently before the courts. Hearings ended April 9, 2026, and a separate Communique to the Blood Tribe members will be posted.
Our leadership is always cognizant of the difference in our relationships with the federal and provincial governments. With the provincial government the relationship is primarily administrative. Under section 92 of the BNA Act the province has jurisdiction over several social program areas and to access those services we generally enter into tri-partite agreements that include the federal government such as policing. As two separate governments with each their own jurisdictions Kainai and Alberta need to be able to communicate, cooperate and, in some instances, collaborate to access much needed services for our members.
Kainai has a long-standing tradition of responsible and diplomatic leadership. Our legacy of traditional leadership, passed down from our past Chiefs and Councils’, has set a model of excellence in how we conduct ourselves, always with integrity, dignity and diplomacy. But we are always firm in the protection of rights and jurisdictions and do not hesitate to take any legal recourse available to us to safeguard our rights and our lands.
Our relationship with Canada, the federal government, is a nation-to-nation relationship based on treaty – the Blackfoot Treaty of 1877 (Treaty 7) which is legally binding, constitutionally protected and non-negotiable.
The Blood Tribe has a well-established treaty position, based on our traditional concept of Innaihtsiiyissini, that was passed down to us from our ancestors, our past leaders and our Elders that is based on the protection of our treaty and aboriginal rights and our land. We have never deviated from our treaty position, and we will continue to rely on it as our foundation and guideline for all projects, initiatives, undertakings and future endeavors.
We have always used our treaty position as a guide in responding to any provincial or federal initiatives or policies that may impact on our treaty and aboriginal rights and our land. In whatever we do we take measures to ensure that our rights and our lands are not adversely affected. Item 8 of the Protocol Agreement is a non-derogation clause which states that: “Nothing in this Protocol shall be interpreted so as to affect, add to or take away from any of the existing Aboriginal or Treaty rights of the First Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy which are recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.” We strongly hold Alberta firm to this edict.
Blood Tribe Chief and Council
Blood Tribe/Kainaiwa
