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The King must recognize the original dishonour: the unlawful alienation of our lands, and the exclusion of our Peoples from decisions that have shaped our destinies without our consent.

On May 27, King Charles III will stand in Canada’s Senate Chamber to deliver his first Speech from the Throne in this country as monarch. For some, it may seem ceremonial. For First Nations across Manitoba and the territories once known as Rupert’s Land, it is a painful reminder of an unresolved injustice at the foundation of Canada’s existence.

Let us be clear: the land the King stands on was never the Crown’s to give away. It was not empty. It was not ungoverned. It was—and remains—the sacred homeland of sovereign Nations who were placed here by the Creator, and who carry sacred legal and spiritual responsibilities to this land.

In 1670, King Charles II issued a royal charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company, granting it dominion over lands it did not own. There was no consultation. No consent. No agreement. Nearly two centuries later, in 1868, the British Parliament passed the Rupert’s Land Act, authorizing the transfer of more than 3.3 million square kilometres to the Dominion of Canada—again, without the knowledge or consent of the First Peoples. The British Crown negotiated this land transfer for 300,000 pounds, excluding the very Nations who had governed these territories since time immemorial.

This was not a lawful sale. It was not a legal agreement under our laws. It was fraud. It was theft. And it was a spiritual violation. The land was never for sale.

Canada’s legal and political existence on these lands rests on this foundational lie. The Treaties that came afterward—Treaty 1 through Treaty 5—were not instruments of surrender. They were sacred covenants made with the Crown and the Creator. These Treaties were affirmed through ceremony, through the lighting of the sacred pipe, and through the laws and natural orders of our Nations. They were not made with Canada. They were made with the British Crown. That sacred promise cannot be erased or transferred. It binds King Charles III just as it did his ancestors.

The Crown has broken these sacred agreements time and again—by asserting unilateral authority, criminalizing our laws, and allowing Canadian institutions to define, limit, and violate Treaty rights. The shift from Treaty dialogue to Indian policy, from partnership to control, marked a profound betrayal—not only of legal commitments, but of the Creator’s law.

Reconciliation is not possible until this truth is acknowledged. The Crown must meet its obligations with honour and humility. The King must recognize the original dishonour: the unlawful alienation of our lands, and the exclusion of our Peoples from decisions that have shaped our destinies without our consent.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has already begun the work of Treaty renewal. In 2024, our Chiefs-in-Assembly resolved to establish a centralized Treaty implementation body—guided by First Nations laws, not colonial frameworks. This is about jurisdiction. It is about sacred responsibility. And it is about justice.

We call on King Charles III to take action—not through symbolic visits or ceremonial words, but by walking the difficult path of accountability. That includes:

• Publicly acknowledging that the transfer of Rupert’s Land was done without the free, prior, and informed consent of First Nations, and was a violation of sacred law;
• Supporting a federal Crown–First Nations summit to address Treaty implementation, governance, land restitution, and reparations;
• Engaging directly with First Nations in ceremony to listen, learn, and honour the spiritual nature of the Treaty relationship;
• Calling for full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, particularly those related to land, jurisdiction, and Indigenous law; and
• Urging the British government to pass legislation affirming the Crown’s ongoing Treaty obligations.

Canada cannot move forward while it continues to benefit from the theft of our lands. And the Crown cannot speak in our house without first answering for its actions. When the King rises to speak in Canada, he must also rise to meet the promises his ancestors made on these lands—promises made in ceremony, before the Creator, and carried forward by our Peoples to this day.

Without truth, there can be no reconciliation. Without acknowledgment, there can be no justice. The land was never for sale. And it is time the world recognized it.

View this article on the Hill Times Website here: https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/05/22/the-crown-must-answer-for-the-theft-of-ruperts-land/461354/