A Treaty Peoples’ Briefing

We are all treaty peoples, and this comes with both rights and responsibilities.

Minister Steven Guilbeault says that he wants to stand for Treaty rights and obligations, for the preservation of the land and the water, and for our common climate future. But in early 2022, he signed off on a document that would reduce Indigenous leadership in decision-making around the Ring of Fire to a mere advisory role.

In response, we created A Treaty Peoples’ Briefing. Politicians before Minister Guilbeault have chosen to ignore the diverse and important perspectives in the Indigenous grassroots of Treaty 9, as well as allies across the country who are saying that there’s a lot to be worried about when it comes to the Ring of Fire. 

Every government official has staff who brief them on what they need to know in order to make good decisions. How would our world be different if communities got to do the briefing, letting politicians in on what they need to know? Minister Guilbeault was obviously missing out on some community knowledge about the Ring of Fire. We wanted to fix that and help him do his job right by listening.

Here are the eight videos that more than 650 people sent to Minister Guilbeault over the course of two weeks, starting with two that speak directly to our responsibilities as allies striving to act in solidarity with grassroots people in Treaty 9.