The Calgary Stampede starts Friday under a cloud of hostility between First Nations and the Alberta government.

This is deeply unsettling and very sad.

Indigenous culture is a huge part of Stampede’s enduring success. It’s woven into the very fabric of the event.

Respect hasn’t always worked both ways but it’s the goal, and every provincial government for decades has helped Stampede foster good relations.

Now, bad blood threatens to shatter the whole relationship between the government and First Nations.

Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features.

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This is yet another toxic side effect of the UCP push for a separatism question in the Oct. 19 ballots.

The thought of an independent Alberta is so appalling to First Nations that the assembly of chiefs for Treaties 6, 7 and 8 asked the RCMP to investigate Premier Danielle Smith for treason.

That was a shocking gesture, meant to show how profoundly dangerous separatism is to First Nations and their Treaties. It was also symbolic — the chiefs don’t really expect to see Smith in the slammer.

But the move brought a fierce wave of racism down on Indigenous people. Many hardcore separatists believe........

© Calgary Herald