King Charles’s recent address to the Canadian parliament, widely interpreted as a subtle rebuttal to Donald Trump’s annexation rhetoric and an assertion of Canadian sovereignty, has drawn mixed reactions—particularly from Indigenous communities who see a troubling contradiction.
While the royal visit was accompanied by ceremonial grandeur—Mounties in pith helmets, regal thrones, and military regalia—it served as a stark reminder for many Indigenous people of a national identity still steeped in colonial tradition. Critics argue that this narrative distracts from the ongoing struggle for reconciliation with First Nations, made more difficult by resurgent nationalist sentiment in the face of foreign threats.
“There’s only so much oxygen in the room,” said Professor David MacDonald, a political scientist from the University of Guelph in Ontario, speaking from Treaty 4 lands in Saskatchewan. “Standing up to Trump has overshadowed Indigenous concerns. It’s as if we matter—just not right now. That, too, is a strategy of settler colonialism.”
Canada was historically formed to unite British colonial territories and prevent American expansion, a process MacDonald notes was rooted in violent dispossession of Indigenous peoples. “It’s easy for settler Canadians to fall back into this comforting, colonial narrative,” he said. “But we must avoid repeating those patterns.”
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Indigenous leaders highlighted the irony of bold declarations of sovereignty from a state that continues to resist recognising the sovereignty of First Nations themselves. The Canadian government has acknowledged that colonial policies—including the forced relocation of Indigenous peoples onto remote reserves—have led to systemic poverty, poor health outcomes, and significantly reduced life expectancy.
Legal battles remain a crucial avenue for Indigenous communities to enforce treaty rights. In one notable case last year, Canada’s Supreme Court found the Crown had made a “mockery” of an 1850 agreement by failing to fairly compensate First Nations for the wealth extracted from their ancestral lands.
“We were sovereign. We still are sovereign,” said Chief David Monias of Pimicikamak Okimawin in Manitoba. “These treaties were meant to ensure shared access to land and resources. That means Canada must also share the revenue.”
Grand Chief Kyra Wilson of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs welcomed the King’s acknowledgement of Indigenous rights and recognition that Canada’s parliament stands on traditional Algonquin land. However, she cautioned: “There’s been plenty of talk about reconciliation, but what we need—and have needed for years—is tangible action.”
National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, head of the Assembly of First Nations, told King Charles directly that “less colonialism” is needed. “People are rightly outraged by what’s happening at the [US] borders,” she said. “But First Nations have long felt the weight of colonialism dictating our lives.”
Canada’s reckoning with its colonial past has been uneven. A landmark 2015 report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission described the forced assimilation of tens of thousands of Indigenous children as “cultural genocide.” The children, torn from their families, were placed in residential schools rife with abuse.
Four years ago this week, the confirmation of over 200 potential burial sites at a former residential school in British Columbia sparked national soul-searching. Yet this momentum has slowed amid rising nationalism triggered by external threats—most recently, Trump’s rhetoric.
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Rowland Keshena Robinson, a political scientist at the University of Waterloo and a member of the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin, noted that symbolic gestures, such as restoring a statue of Canada’s first prime minister John A. Macdonald, have undermined reconciliation efforts. Macdonald is a controversial figure, known for policies aimed at eliminating Indigenous peoples through starvation and forced assimilation.
“There’s clearly been a backsliding in reconciliation over the last five years,” said Robinson.
According to MacDonald, Canada has a rare opportunity to forge an identity distinct from the US—not through imperial nostalgia, but by embracing Indigenous self-determination. “The opposite of an authoritarian presidential model is one where Indigenous peoples control their own lands and waters,” he said. “That’s the most anti-American thing a Canadian could do.”
He concluded: “If we can shift the narrative, Indigenous self-governance could become the defining feature of Canadian identity.”
