Canada could become the 51st state, as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has been going on about for some weeks. Some Indigenous leaders, past and present, wouldn't exactly support that idea.

One of those voices against such an idea is Dettah Chief Ernest Betsina, who said that, as far as he's concerned, Indigenous people are Canadians and will stay Canadians.

"Our negotiations, our treaties, are with Canada, not the United States," he told SA国际影视传媒 on Monday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has previously shut down any chance of a Canada - U.S. merger. Trump has also said he would use economic force to complete such a merger, however, and has also proposed 25 per cent tariffs on imported goods. 

Premier R.J. Simpson described the move as a concern for all Canadians, while Mayor Rebecca Alty has said the city has not done any economic analysis on what impact TrumpSA国际影视传媒檚 tariff proposal would have.

As for what would happen to any treaty or land agreement, Betsina said he doesn't know.

"I could just see the turmoil, I could see the litigation that could possibly happen," he said. "First Nations people, we've always been here. We're born here and our generations are here and for us to switch over to the United States, oh my goodness. I wouldn't even know how to tell the elders."

When Betsina first heard about Trump's idea, he said he doesn't know what's in Trump's head when he says things like that.

"The history has always been we live next door to the United States, so it's just incredible what he's trying to pull," he said. "It's hard for me to predict the future, but as far as I'm concerned, we're going to stay as Canadians. We're going to stay as First Nations people, as Yellowknives Dene."

One person who's rather knowledgeable on the subject of treaties is John Zoe. Zoe worked on the Tlicho agreement for decades, and was the chief land claims negotiator for the former Treaty 11 Council of the NWT from 1992 until 2005.

Zoe said treaties and land agreements matter because they recognize Indigenous people of having always been here.

"We have a long history," he said, talking about Indigenous peoples' history with trade and other interactions. "We managed to do things in a way that was natural, and Canada came and uprooted that and turned it upside down and made us dependent."

Those agreements are tools to reimburse that, he added, and he, too, would not be in support of Canada being taken over.

"If Canada became the 51st state, it would mean that the U.S. doesn't recognize Canada," he said, adding that taking over something without it being offered sounds like force.

But there are some Indigenous people who like the idea of possibly being an American. One of those is former Behchoko chief Leon Lafferty.

He told SA国际影视传媒 on Monday that it would be a good idea if everyone west and north of Ontario became the 51st state. As for Quebec, he said it should be its own country.

He cited the United States being more democratic as one reason he wants the switch.

"We are living in a dictatorship by the Liberal government and the NDP," he said. 

Lafferty added that any contracts Indigenous communities currently have with Ottawa would still exist, and could also be negotiated into its statehood.

And as for the idea of Canadian history being forgotten? That's not a concern to Lafferty.

"You cannot wipe it off," he said. "It will not go away."

Lafferty said he would be happy if Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre operate under the title of Governor of Canada should he become the next prime minister.

Lafferty has been to almost every state, he added, and has ancestral roots that tie all the way down to Arizona.

With a tinge of disappointment in his voice, Lafferty gave a quick "no" when asked if he thinks Canada will ever actually become the 51st state.

"But it's a good thought," he chuckled.