Farmers in Alberta who are serious about reconciliation have a new way to proceed thanks to the Treaty Land Sharing Network (TLSN).
Representatives from the TLSN were in Stettler on March 20, giving a presentation to around 20 members of the Buffalo Lake Nature Club at its monthly meeting in the basement of St. George's Anglican Church.
According to a pamphlet handed out at the meeting, the TLSN "is a group of farmers, ranchers, and other landholders who have come together to begin the crucial work of honouring Treaties."
The way the TLSN works is those landholders interested in becoming part of the network apply, agreeing to grant land access to Indigenous people so that they may practise their traditional ways of life.
For Brenda Bohmer, a coordinating committee member and one of the evening's presenters, becoming part of the network was about finding out "what can I give back to the land?"
"You need to make every acre count," said Bohmer.
Bohmer also asked herself, "What if settlers sought kinship with the Indigenous peoples?"
Those questions led her to the TLSN, a grassroots organization which started in Saskatchewan in 2020.
Bohmer discussed how the government in that province had begun to sell off crown land prior to that, which in turn limited the ability for that province's Indigenous people to hunt and collect herbs used in ceremonies, such as sage.
Not content to wait for the government to solve the problem it had created, a group of like-minded farmers and ranchers came together, and the TLSN was born.
Quickly gaining traction in Saskatchewan, the program expanded into Treaty 6 areas in Alberta as well.
Because being part of the network will mean increased foot and vehicle traffic to a rural property, those wishing to apply to join the network are required to speak to their neighbours about it.
Once the application is accepted, the network provides signage for the land, and the location is entered into a database online.
There are several restrictions on what people can do on the land.
Rules include land being accessible to foot traffic only, people using the land need to contact the landholder before just showing up, and fires are not allowed.
Depending on the landholder, other restrictions can be put in place as well, such as no hunting on the home quarter.
As of March 2025, 70 landholders with over 45,000 acres in Saskatchean and Alberta are part of the network, three-quarters of which have been accessed by Indigenous people in the last year; most multiple times.
The TLSN operates on four guiding principles:
- Indigenous peoples hold Inherent and Treaty rights to move freely throughout these territories and to use and steward these lands.
- Access to lands is critical for the cultural survival and livelihood of Indigenous people.
- As Treaty people, settlers have a responsibility to share the land that they currently steward and actively work to remove barriers to safe land access.
- It is critical for settlers to engage in ongoing learnings together to deepen their practice of the Treaty relationship, even when this work requires them to set aside their own ways of doing things, challenge their perceptions, and feel uncomfortable.
The network is based out of its head office in Mossbank, Sask. For more information on the TLSN, check out treatylandsharingnetwork.ca.
After the presentation, the Buffalo Lake Nature Club carried on with its business meeting.
Editor's note: This story was updated to correct wording around the network being in Treaty 6 in Alberta and reflecting the membership of 70 landholders across Alberta and Saskatchewan.
