No Indigenous land acknowledgments from Jason Kenney sends wrong message, say advocates – Toronto Star

EDMONTON—Miranda Jimmy knew the relationship between Alberta’s provincial government and Indigenous communities was going to change the moment Jason Kenney started his election night victory speech.

“Rachel Notley started her concession speech acknowledging Treaty 6 (which covers Edmonton) and Jason Kenney started his speech saying, ‘Alberta, we’re open for business,’ ” said the co-founder of Reconciliation in Solidarity Edmonton (RISE), an Indigenous reconciliation group in Edmonton.

“So I thought that was automatically a shift on Indigenous relations.”

Kenney, Alberta’s new United Conservative premier, is markedly different from his New Democrat predecessor in his governing style, policies and public speaking. Among the differences are each leader’s approach to land acknowledgments, the practice of publicly referring to treaty relationships that has become common among political leaders across Canada. While Notley would acknowledge the Treaty land she was on or which Indigenous geographic area she was in for almost all her speeches as premier and on the campaign trail, Kenney seems to have abandoned the practice.

Read More: https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2019/05/14/no-indigenous-land-acknowledgments-from-jason-kenney-sends-wrong-message-say-advocates.html