2024 Heritage Calgary Awards, Heritage Storytelling: Land Acknowledgement Project
2024 Heritage Calgary Awards
The land acknowledgment sign at The Confluence where the Bow and Elbow Rivers meet.
Winner of the 2024 Heritage Calgary Award, Heritage Storytelling:
Land Acknowledgement Project
In 2022, 25 land acknowledgment signs were installed in parks and open spaces across Calgary with the intent of building awareness of the original stewards of the land and contribute to the Truth and Reconciliation process. The City of Calgary Parks team worked with Calgary’s Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee on the development of the land acknowledgment text, supported by all Treaty 7 members and the Metis Nation.
The land acknowledgment signs include artwork from an Indigenous artist and interviews with an Elder accessible by QR code from the sign. Participation included Elders and artists from Treaty 7 Nations and the Metis Nation.
Heritage Calgary connected with Elder Anthony Starlight of Tsuut’ina Nation to learn more about the project and learn more about the history of the land at The Confluence, where the Bow and Elbow Rivers meet.
Can you describe the main goal of your initiative and the inspiration behind it?
The City of Calgary has been doing land acknowledgments at the start of events for some time. I’m not sure when that began, but the City, the Public Library and other organizations began doing them a lot at the start of events.
Indigenous leadership talked to the City and said, we want you to recognize these areas, these parks, as First Nations areas where we have stewarded the land for thousands of years. Because before there was nothing here but the buffalo, and animals, and that's how we lived. We followed the buffalo herd.
What makes this project or site particularly significant to the local community and its history?
The coming together of the rivers (at The Confluence) is a significant place for Tsuut’ina People, but also other Indigenous Peoples who lived around here before the North West Mountain Police, before settlers. The area was very beautiful. A lot of the cottonwood trees are still growing, and some of them are over 100 years old. When we would gather at these places the hope was to see family members, to make new friendships. Because we were always wandering. We were always following the buffalo, we had certain areas that we found that we were comfortable in.
In a story of the Creator, putting the horse and the other animals on the earth. The horse was the one that decided to be the one to be a guardian of the First Nations. So the horse spirit came and took a lot of hardship making our lives easier.
How has this initiative helped engage the public or specific groups, such as youth or residents, in the project?
I’ve worked a lot with kids and with schools to teach them the significance of this land and its history, our First Nations history. No matter what you try and give that child the ability to give them a larger picture in the world of what's out there. Sometimes the kids are focused inward, they’re looking at their phones, I like to encourage them to put down their phones and look around. It’s then that you can see everything. You can see the trees, animals and nature all around.
Why is it important for people to understand and appreciate the history and heritage of this particular area?
This place (The Confluence) is significant, as I’ve said. But what we see is the legacy of the North West Mounted Police, there hasn’t been that knowledge or understanding of how important this area is for First Nations. Not just Tsuut’ina but all First Nations near here held this site as important for ceremonies, for trade, for gatherings.
The Indigenous Art on the back of the land acknowledgment sign, created by Stoney Nakoda artist Andrew Holloway
What challenges or considerations did you face in preserving or promoting local heritage through this initiative?
From my point of view, we didn’t face challenges. I was happy to help out the artist I worked with in any way I could to promote our history, connection to the land, and our position in this world. I like to encourage our Indigenous youth to think about the old ways, think of the Creator, and think of how we can help each other, rather than fight each other. These acknowledgment signs, I hope, will bring people together.
Looking forward, how do you see this project continuing or evolving in the future to engage more people or further preserve local heritage?
Yes, just what I said in the previous question. To have people better understand how close the relationship between First Nations and not just Calgary, but, the province, the different people that we meet.
Whenever I'm asked to do something like this (an interview), I always try and tell the best story that I can about our relationship. But there is also the bad side. The drugs, the alcohol, and you need people to understand both sides of that, to truly understand where we are and the history of what happened to our people. These land acknowledgments go a long way toward creating that awareness.
The Heritage Calgary Awards celebrate the diverse heritage of our shared home. Every second year we honour those who have made efforts to identify, preserve, and promote heritage in Calgary to help enrich our communities.