Parks Canada Report on Indigenous History in National Parks Draws Conservative Criticism

Parks Canada released an internal review last month titled Evaluation of the Indigenous Guardians Initiative Internal Review. The 2024 document states that beginning in the 19th century Indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their homes, denied access to traditional territories, and prohibited from hunting and harvesting on land incorporated into national parks.

The report says these actions disrupted relationships through exclusion and colonial injustices.

It adds that Indigenous communities were excluded from decisions about land and resource management, eroding languages, cultures, governance systems and traditional ways of engaging with the land. Banff National Park was established in 1885 as Canada's first national park after the federal government asserted control over land traditionally used by Indigenous peoples including the Stoney Nakoda Nations.

In the 1930s members of the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation were removed from their reserve in what is now Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba.

The report acknowledges that the legacy of past policies continues to shape relationships between Indigenous communities and Parks Canada today. It states that the agency's recognition of this history provides context for its current approach to reconciliation and Indigenous stewardship. Rachael Thomas, Conservative MP for Lethbridge in Alberta, called the report insane on social media.

She stated that instead of simply celebrating Canada's natural beauty and history Parks Canada is now reviewing heritage sites through an ideological lens. Thomas added that Canadians are proud of national parks and historic sites and that they should be protected, preserved and celebrated, not treated as something to be ashamed of.