By Pearl Lorentzen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeside Leader “Before Alberta was Alberta in 1905, we signed treaties in 1899,” says Loon River First Nation Chief Ivan Sawan. The treaties are nation-to-nation agreements between First Nations and the Crown and Canada, he adds. “We never ceded or surrendered our land,” says Sawan. Sawan was responding to the Government of Alberta’s proposed Bill 54, part of which makes citizen referendums easier. It’s expected – according to many reports – to result in a referendum on Alberta separating from Canada. Loon River is in Treaty 8 territory, as are the other First Nations within the region covered by the Lakeside Leader. This treaty includes portions of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. The southern border in Alberta is the Athabasca…
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