EDMONTON — Yesterday afternoon, Saddle Lake Cree Nation announced that they are asserting their jurisdiction and nationhood by exercising inherent rights and law to protect human rights and provide gender-affirming care for all gender-diverse peoples in their territory. Any Albertan will be able to access gender-affirming care on the nation’s reserved lands and territories, creating a safe refuge for those seeking this care.
The announcement was supported with remarks by Indigenous leaders, the President of the Canadian Medical Association, the President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and many others.
“Yesterday’s announcement is an important reminder that the ‘Medicine Chest’ clause in Treaty 6, first signed and agreed to 150 years ago, is a living and enduring promise of comprehensive health care, which includes gender-affirming care,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “Congratulations and thank you to Okimawskwew Chief Dale Steinhauer and the Saddle Lake Cree Nation for making it clear that gender-affirming care is a Treaty right and for asserting your sovereign rights, to our collective benefit.”
Saddle Lake Cree Nation has taken this action in response to multiple pieces of anti-trans legislation passed by the Alberta government, as well as last year’s completely unacceptable use of the notwithstanding clause to override the constitutional right to challenge these discriminatory laws or access needed health care services.
Friends of Medicare and many others have been vocal in opposition to these restrictive health policies, and to contend that health care decisions should be made between patients and their doctors, not politicians. The Premier reaching in to restrict gender-affirming health care services and to breach the provincial government’s legal and Treaty obligations to health care has set a dangerous new precedent that should be of deep concern to everyone in this province.
“Access to health care is a human right. Everyone in Alberta deserves to feel safe and free of discrimination when accessing health care, and the care they receive should come on the basis of the best medical evidence, not politics and ideology,” said Gallaway. “We strongly support the bold leadership shown by Saddle Lake Cree Nation yesterday, not just for their own nation, but for all Albertans seeking to access these life-saving health care services.”
You can read the press release from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, or make a donation through the GoFundMe page they have launched to support legal costs associated with this assertion of constitutional and Treaty rights.
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