The Alberta government has apologized after an updated version of Premier Danielle Smith’s statement commemorating the province’s 121st birthday was issued with the original statement’s reference to Indigenous peoples removed.
“We recognize the Indigenous Peoples whose enduring connection to and stewardship of this land continues to shape Alberta,” reads the original statement, issued Tuesday at about 10 a.m. MT.
The updated version, issued about an hour later, omits that reference. There are no references to Indigenous people in that version, which contains multiple other changes and additions.
The French version of the updated statement kept the original’s reference to Indigenous people.
At a press conference on education investments Tuesday, Smith was asked about the new statement. She said she was unsure why the original version had been updated.
“I’m not sure exactly what happened with that glitch, but I thought it was fine,” she said of the original version.
Provincial spokesperson Yonathan Sumamo told CBC News the updated version was issued “in error,” and that the original statement stands.
“We apologize for this error and any confusion that it may have caused,” Sumamo said in an emailed statement.
As of publication, the updated version remains on the premier’s social media pages.
“The removal is deeply troubling,” Trevor Mercredi, grand chief of the Treaty 8 First Nations, said in a statement.
He emphasized that “all First Nations across Alberta have always been part of the history, present and future of this province.
“Our Nations are not a footnote to Alberta’s story. Treaty Nations were here long before Alberta existed, and our place in this land cannot be erased when it becomes politically inconvenient.”
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At Tuesday’s press conference, Smith acknowledged Alberta’s “various cultures and diaspora communities, including Indigenous peoples, who helped build the province.”
“We want to celebrate everyone from every background and what they’ve been able to do to build this incredible province,” she said.
