Treaty Commissioner at meeting with Governor General

Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan Kathy Walker, Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation Chief Larry Ahenakew, and Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation Chief Daryl Watson met with the 30th Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon.

At the meeting on May 8, these leaders thanked Simon for her years of service as the first Indigenous person to hold the Governor General role.

“As a proud Inuk she has demonstrated a commitment to strengthening the Crown’s foundational relationship with Indigenous peoples through reconciliatory action, and not mere words,” said Walker.

Simon promoted the truth about the shared history of our land in that it stretches across millennia throughout iyiniwi-ministik (North America). Foremost among this shared history is the Treaty relationship between First Nations and the Crown and the sacred bundle of roles, responsibilities and rights constituted by Treaties 1 to 11.

Grounded in the history of these lands, Treaties have long set out a powerful roadmap for reconciliation. As noted by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015), all Canadians, particularly governments, policymakers and public servants, have a duty to learn, educate and understand our Treaty history because ‘History plays an important role in reconciliation; to build for the future, Canadians must look to, and learn from, the past.’

As representatives of two of the original Treaty nations to negotiate Treaty 6 with the British Crown and its Dominion of Canada, Chief Ahenakew and Chief Watson hand delivered an invitation to the Governor General and her successor, the Governor General Designate, Louise Arbour, to attend the commemoration of 150 years of Treaty 6 on August 23, 2026 at Fort Carlton, Saskatchewan, Treaty 6 territory.

As a former Supreme Court Justice and United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, the new Governor General, Louise Arbour, brings a life-time of commitment to upholding constitutional rights and human rights, and in light of her deep understanding of justice, we trust that she will recognize and affirm the inherent, constitutional, human and Treaty rights of First Nations in her new role.