{"id":92522,"date":"2025-05-16T08:44:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T12:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=92522"},"modified":"2025-05-16T08:45:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T12:45:07","slug":"first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\/","title":{"rendered":"First Nations unity displayed at rally against separatism at Legislature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Hundreds of people attended a rally that First Nations leaders from across Alberta organized at the Legislature in Edmonton to protest the premier\u2019s ongoing separatist threats, which every speaker agreed would run roughshod over Treaty rights. The May 15 event opened with drumming and a grand entry while Elders burned sacred herbs for smudging, followed by remarks from leaders representing Treaty 6, 7 and 8. The protest was a way for Treaty First Nations in Alberta to present a united front in the face of Bill 54, which lowers the threshold for bringing forward a referendum. Premier Danielle Smith has said that she will hold a referendum on independence in 2026 if a petition in support of one gets enough&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F05%2F16%2Ffirst-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Hundreds of people attended a rally that First Nations leaders from across Alberta organized at the Legislature in Edmonton to protest the premier\u2019s ongoing separatist threats, which every speaker agreed would run roughshod over Treaty rights. The May 15 event opened with drumming and a grand entry while Elders burned sacred herbs for smudging, followed by remarks from leaders representing Treaty 6, 7 and 8. The protest was a way for Treaty First Nations in Alberta to present a united front in the face of Bill 54, which lowers the threshold for bringing forward a referendum. Premier Danielle Smith has said that she will hold a referendum on independence in 2026 if a petition in support of one gets enough... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F05%2F16%2Ffirst-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>First Nations unity displayed at rally against separatism at Legislature - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Nations unity displayed at rally against separatism at Legislature - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Hundreds of people attended a rally that First Nations leaders from across Alberta organized at the Legislature in Edmonton to protest the premier\u2019s ongoing separatist threats, which every speaker agreed would run roughshod over Treaty rights. The May 15 event opened with drumming and a grand entry while Elders burned sacred herbs for smudging, followed by remarks from leaders representing Treaty 6, 7 and 8. The protest was a way for Treaty First Nations in Alberta to present a united front in the face of Bill 54, which lowers the threshold for bringing forward a referendum. Premier Danielle Smith has said that she will hold a referendum on independence in 2026 if a petition in support of one gets enough\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-16T12:44:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-16T12:45:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/16\\\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/16\\\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"First Nations unity displayed at rally against separatism at Legislature\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-16T12:44:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-16T12:45:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/16\\\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":735,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/16\\\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/16\\\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/16\\\/first-nations-unity-displayed-at-rally-against-separatism-at-legislature\\\/\",\"name\":\"First Nations unity displayed at rally against separatism at Legislature - 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