Politics of Recognition
“These projects will better connect our economy, diversify our industries, access new markets, and create high-paying careers, while protecting Canada's rigorous environmental standards and upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
– Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney
On September 10, 2025, Prime Minister Carney announced the launch of the Major Projects Office (MPO), which “will benefit from the leadership and guidance of the Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC),” that is made up of various First Nation, Metis, Inuit leaders from across so-called Canada. The council will help fast-track major extractive projects “by streamlining and accelerating regulatory approvals” for the greater good of so-called Canada's economy.
The promise that these major projects will “create opportunities for equity ownership and responsible resource management through meaningful participation with Indigenous Peoples.” But at what expense? This summer, we witnessed 7,318,421 hectares of land burned due to devastating and increasingly frequent wildfires – fires that have displaced many people, mainly northern, remote Indigenous communities, forcing them from their homes and their lands.
This reflects Glen Coulthard’s argument in Red Skin, White Masks, wherehe discusses “how politics of recognition has to come to serve the interests of colonial power in the ways it has” (25). In other words, through processes of primitive and capitalist accumulation, the colonial state/system continues to find ways of accessing “Indigenous peoples’ lands and resources by producing neocolonial subjectivities that co-opt Indigenous people into becoming instruments of their own dispossession” (156).
When Consultation Becomes Coercion: Protecting Land, Rights, and Future Generations
Colonial structures and systems continue to devise tactics to remove Indigenous Peoples from their lands. In this case, it is a divide-and-conquer narrative – one that Indigenous Peoples have seen played out again and again.
We each come from Nations and communities where we understand our Inherent Rights, as well as our responsibility to protect our relatives – including our okâwîmâwaskiy (Mother Earth).
With that great responsibility, we must ensure that there is balance – that our relatives live in an environment of sustainability, and that our traditional lands, to which we belong, are kept intact not just for now, but for the generations yet to come. We are guided by manitow wiyinikéwina (Creator’s Laws), and the sacred relationships we carry.
As a Treaty and Rights holder, it saddens me when Indigenous leaders step into these colonial spaces and support the very efforts of assimilation and dispossession of our lands – the lands our ancestors protected for us. As if the promises of the colonial state are in good faith or serve our best interests as Indigenous Peoples. Much like false solutions, these are false promises that our leaders continue to believe in.
I belong to Treaty 8 and am a registered member of Mikisew Cree First Nation. I have seen similar promises be made to my Nation, which lives downstream from the world’s largest open-pit extractive mine, where 1.4 trillion cubic metres of tailings wastewater currently sit. This problem was created hand in hand with both federal and provincial governments under their “robust environmental protections and regulations.” Now, however, there is pressure from mega extractive companies to allow them to “treat” and release these toxic tailings ponds – Leading our people to be coerced into supporting industry again as merely stakeholders as opposed to Rights holders.
Consultation to Coercion:
The Broken Promise to Protect Indigenous Rights
The Pathways Alliance pipeline, presented as a "solution" for carbon capture, exemplifies another instance of the colonial state's tactics to fast-track extractive projects with minimal Indigenous consent. This 400-kilometre transportation line aims to connect major oil sands operations north of Fort McMurray to a carbon storage hub northeast of Cold Lake First Nation, impacting communities along both Treaty 8 and Treaty 6 territories. Despite claims of environmental responsibility, this project, like many others, is slated for accelerated regulatory approval, severely limiting meaningful consultation with the 25 Indigenous communities directly affected by its route. This approach directly contradicts the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the spirit of reconciliation, further entrenching the disempowerment of Indigenous Peoples in decisions concerning their traditional lands and inherent rights.
Under the Building Canada Act, it states that it honours Section 35 Constitutional Rights of Indigenous Peoples and that the colonial state is committed to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), including Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC). How can this be possible when the purpose of the MPO is to fast-track major projects?
As Indigenous Peoples, we have “built systems of consent, accountability, and agency so that all Indigenous political orders are valued, cherished, and celebrated as a crucial part of our communities and nations” (94; Betasamosake Simpson). This is part of the solution to restoring balance with okâwîmâwaskiy (Mother Earth), and this is the relationship we must continue to carry.
Rooted in Responsibility: Honouring the Land
and Our Ancestors
Despite promises of progress and partnership, Indigenous lands and communities continue to face pressures from extractive projects. Yet, Indigenous peoples remain resilient, holding onto the deep knowledge of caring for the land and each other.
Protecting our rights and honouring our responsibilities to okâwîmâwaskiy (Mother Earth) isn’t just for today — it’s for generations to come. Moving forward means rejecting empty promises and standing firm in our relationship with the land, because that connection is at the heart of everything.
Whether you’re a guardian, a land defender, or a water protector, there’s an instinct to protect, nurture, and fight for what’s best. That’s how we connect with okâwîmâwaskiy (Mother Earth) — she shares that instinct to heal, grow, and provide. But healing can’t happen in environments poisoned by pollution, trauma, or addiction. Each of us carries a piece of okâwîmâwaskiy (Mother Earth) within, and that connection gives us strength to stand up, do better, love deeper, and protect harder.
Okâwîmâwaskiy (Mother Earth) is our home, and caring for her, for our waters and ancestors — is our responsibility. Today, we face climate change, pollution, extraction, and destruction. Knowledge keepers and protectors continue to lead with light — a light we must follow. Respecting the land and each other should be natural, not a battle. This wisdom is what we must carry and pass down.
Consent is a Right, Not a Recommendation
So-called Canada has committed to following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which includes the right Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). This means Indigenous communities must be informed and have a chance to say yes or no to projects that affect their land and lives.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action push for governments and businesses to respect these rights and work alongside with Indigenous peoples. Reconciliation means listening, respecting consent and amplifying Indigenous voices at the centre of decisions that physically, emotionally and spiritually impact them.
Collectively, we all have a responsibility to the lands and waters that we live upon and share. We must respect the Treaty and Indigenous communities that have sustained these lands. We are all Treaty people. We must continue to uphold and protect the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of these lands.
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About the Author
Melanie Dene is a registered member of Mikisew Cree First Nation located in the Treaty 8 territory. A graduate of University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts in Native Studies and a Master of Arts in Policy Studies. She is a mother, a MMIWG2S advocate, and sessional instructor with the First Nation University, and currently holds the role of Managing Director with Indigenous Climate Action.
Jessica Christmas is a Mi’kmaq woman from Membertou First Nation, located in Unama’ki (Cape Breton, NS.) A graduate of St. Thomas University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (2017), Jessica has worked in communications since 2018 and recently stepped into the role of Communications Manager with ICA. She is passionate about storytelling, connection, and supporting the growth of the communities she serves.
