A delegation of Indigenous leaders from Canada met with King Charles III in London on Thursday, where they discussed reconciliation and the need to build a strong relationship going forward.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed and Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron held an audience Thursday at Buckingham Palace, two days before the king’s coronation on Saturday.
Mme Archibald said the meeting was an opportunity to “evolve the relationship with the Crown,” which predates the birth of the Canadian federation. “One of the issues that matters to us is the nation-to-nation relationship that we have had and continue to have,” she said, adding that the meeting with Charles III had been “very positive.”
“It was also an opportunity for us to connect with the king on things that matter to him, things that matter to us too and that we can work on together. »
Mr. Obed meanwhile said that the leaders had been able to discuss the problems facing their communities and invited the king to visit Canada to continue the work of reconciliation.
As Prince of Wales, King Charles often spoke of the importance of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples; it was one of the priorities of his three-day visit to Canada last year. In a closing speech in Yellowknife, Charles said he was “deeply moved” by the stories of residential school survivors he met and publicly acknowledged their suffering.
Many Indigenous leaders have urged the British Crown to go further in addressing the damage done by Canada’s colonial past, and Mme Archibald is among those who have already asked for an apology.
But all three leaders said Thursday’s meeting was all about building a positive relationship and that the tougher conversations will come later.
Mr. Obed said the relationship going forward will include both easier issues, such as agreements to promote Indigenous arts and culture, and more difficult issues.
“The challenges around the colonial history and many of the issues associated with that, I don’t think the king thought that wouldn’t be on the table,” the Inuit leader said. “But we will certainly have to proceed as best we can, in light of the real limits that we all have, in doing things for our respective institutions. »
A meeting “more than symbolic”
Mme Archibald said Thursday’s meeting was not the right time to raise the issue of an apology, but rather a chance to lay the groundwork for the future. She said the leaders hoped to meet the King again, both virtually and during a possible in-person visit to Canada.
Mme Caron does not believe that this meeting was merely symbolic. “Being able to sit down as First Nations, Métis and Inuit and share with him who we are and what our priorities are as peoples, and identify ways that we can work together in the future is really important. for us,” she said.
The Métis leader said the fact that King Charles took the time to meet with them, just two days before his coronation, was “sincerely significant” and bodes well for future relations.
Other Aboriginal leaders also traveled to London for the coronation of King Charles, including several high chiefs from Manitoba.
Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, Garrison Settee, and Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Cathy Merrick, say they came to London in part to remind the King of his treaty ties with the Aboriginal peoples of the Canada.
“We are here to remind the new king that he must restore this relationship that he had with the indigenous people because we did not sign treaties with Canada: we signed treaties with the Crown,” said Chief Settee.
He said the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous peoples dates back to the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which considered the association to be “nation-to-nation”. He laments, however, that this relationship has changed over time, as Indigenous peoples in Canada have begun to be treated as “wards of the state” rather than as partners, resulting in poverty, marginalization and disruption. treaty promises.
“It’s something the monarchy has to sort out because the relationship we’ve had hasn’t been very good,” he said.
Mr Settee would like the new king to take concrete action, including refuting the “Doctrine of Discovery”, which has been used to legitimize the seizure of Indigenous territories, and making a new proclamation to complement the one made in 1763, which would reaffirm the recognition of indigenous peoples as “nations”.
Mme Merrick said she would like to see the Crown follow up with its officials in Canada to help advance priorities such as land restitution, natural resource revenue sharing and a new system of Indigenous citizenship.
She also thinks the king should apologize “for the way our people have been treated and to give Canada the power to deal with the way it has treated our people.” But she adds that the presence of indigenous leaders in London is already a gesture of goodwill.
“Today we are making progress. We are very happy to be able to be here to celebrate him as king, so hopefully this relationship will start moving forward. »