On Sept. 22, 1877, leaders of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Stoney-Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations signed Treaty 7 with representatives of the Crown at Blackfoot Crossing. That agreement paved the way for settlement across what is now southern Alberta.

Almost 150 years later, the anniversary is marked with acknowledgments and ceremonies. Yet one truth still goes largely unspoken: non-Indigenous Albertans and First Nations do not agree on what the treaties mean.

For governments past and present, treaties have been treated as transactions. Land surrendered. Benefits provided. A deal was concluded.

This “land cession” view has shaped law, policy and public discourse for more than a century.

For Indigenous Nations, the understanding has always been different. Treaty 7 was not seen as a sale or s

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