King Charles III meets with Indigenous leaders

OTTAWA, Ont.-Two days before his coronation, King Charles III met with Canadian Indigenous leaders for a conversation that many people hope will bring a new chapter in the relationship between the Crown and Canada's Indigenous people. While King Charles previously met with Canadian Indigenous leaders during a May 2022 visit to Canada, this was the first time a British monarch met with First Nations, Inuit and Métis representatives together.

The meeting at Buckingham Palace was arranged by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, the first Indigenous person to serve as the King's representative in Canada. Others participating in the audience, who were also guests at the coronation, included Assembly of First Nations Chief RoseAnne Archibald, Métis National Council president Cassidy Caron, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed.

In an interview with CBC's Renee Filippone, those in the meeting called the discussion "positive" and "productive."

"This is a very significant day and we hope that it leads to further formal work, but also a further positive relationship between the King and representatives of Indigenous Peoples in Canada," Obed told CBC.

All three leaders were given the space to talk individually about who they are as First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, share their priorities, hear the King's views and chart a path forward.

"When speaking with the King today, I mentioned something from one of my elders, who said that relationships are built over 100 cups of tea," Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron told CBC. "Today, we had our first cup of tea, to build that relationship, to identify our common and shared priorities moving forward, to find ways of working together that will create real, tangible change in our communities."

While the conversation was scheduled for 45 minutes, it actually lasted an hour. Topics discussed included returning Indigenous artifacts from Britain to their home communities, the problem of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and Métis residential school survivors. King Charles discussed his interests in climate change, Indigenous knowledge, housing and reconciliation.

Niigaan Sinclair, a professor of Native studies at the University of Manitoba, told CBC News that it is important for Indigenous leaders to meet with the King because their nations and the Crown are equal partners in the treaties signed before Confederation. He noted that many Indigenous leaders asked Queen Elizabeth II to intervene in treaty violations, but she did not.

Indigenous leaders hope that future discussions will include an apology for colonization and the Anglican Church's role in residential schools. Leaders also hope that King Charles III will renounce the Doctrine of Disovery, which was used to justify the seizure of Indigenous land in the Americas by colonial powers in the 1400s, and led to King George III issuing the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which declared all land in North America to be Crown land. Sinclair said a renunciation of the Doctrine would force the federal government to deal with outstanding Indigenous land claims. Pope Francis formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery last March.

While the leaders had these issues in mind, they said the meeting was focused on building a positive relationship that could pave the way for tougher future conversations.

"The King understands the importance of walking the path of reconciliation with Canada and Indigenous peoples," Simon said. "Discussions like these are vital. They will start slowly, and grow, forming the pillars of a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples that is based on respect and understanding."

The participants invited the monarch to visit their communities and agreed to have another virtual meeting before the end of the year.

Simon said. "I have great hope for an improved Crown-Indigenous relationship in the coming years."