Blood Tribe Chief Traveller Plaited Hair met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty in Calgary on July 11, 2026, to push for progress on the Big Claim – a long-standing land dispute dating back to the 1877 Treaty 7. The Chief presented a letter outlining the claim’s history and voiced concerns about how long a settlement is taking, according to a community notice from Blood Tribe.
Chief Plaited Hair left the meeting feeling positive, with the Prime Minister acknowledging the significance of the Big Claim and the need to reach a settlement. The Chief was scheduled to follow up with Minister Alty on July 15 in Ottawa during the Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly, to reiterate the urgency of settling the claim.
The Big Claim stems from a promise made in Treaty 7, which said the Blood Tribe would receive one square mile of reserve land for each family of five persons. In reality, the reserve ended up at only 547.5 square miles instead of the promised 710 square miles – a shortfall of 162.5 square miles. In 2019, a Federal Court judge ruled Canada had broken that promise, and in 2024 the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the breach, though it said the claim was time-barred for court action. The declaration, however, keeps the door open for a negotiated settlement.
Chief Plaited Hair has been Chief of the Blood Tribe since November 2024. The Assembly of First Nations gathering runs from July 14 to 16 at the Rogers Centre in Ottawa. A successful settlement would bring economic benefits and a long-awaited resolution for the 13,060 members of the Blood Tribe.
