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Indigenous relations

Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit’ada, Tânsi, Tawnshi and Hello!

The City of Airdrie is located on Treaty 7 territory. We acknowledge this land as the traditional home of the Blackfoot Confederacy, including the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai, the Tsuut’ina Nation and Stoney-Nakoda Nations, including the Goodstoney, Chiniki, and Bearspaw, and the People of Métis Nation of Alberta, District 4.

Airdrie is at the start of a very long and continuous journey towards solidying relationships with the Indigenous community and we're taking small but significant steps towards achieving those co-created goals.

Treaty 7 and Métis Nation flags permanently located at City Hall

The City of Airdrie permanently located the Treaty 7 and Métis Nation flags in Council Chambers and in front of City Hall during a ceremony held on Sept. 18, 2023. This is to honour the Treaty 7 First Nations and Métis Peoples and is an important measure in solidifying relationships and building trust within the entire community, benefiting both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Heritage and Culture team at the City of Airdrie

The efforts of this team created in September 2023 will help create a guiding strategy for the City and Council continue the relationship-building, learning, implementing change to achieve long-term reconciliation and looking at land use through an archaeological lens.

Elder talks

Elder Talk with Sgt. Mayor (Ret) George Pambrun
November 8, 7-9 p.m.

An opportunity to connect with stories, insights and perspectives on life, culture, and spirituality. The Elder Talk will take place in Council Chambers at City Hall. 

RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKET TO THE ELDER TALK

The Circle Connections for Reconcilation Society is proud to announce that Elders from across Treaty 6 and 7 Territories and the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3 have graciously agreed to come to Airdrie to speak at five different events in the coming months.

The Elder Talk series provides an opportunity to connect with stories, insights, and perspectives on life, culture, and spirituality.

Little Orange Flags

An intimate ceremony was held on June 14, 2023, in front of Airdrie City Hall to remove a temporary memorial of the “Little Orange Flags.” Originally, 470 flags were installed in 2021 in response to the discovery of 751 children recovered from unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school in Cowessess First Nation, which was on the heals of the 215 children recovered in Kamloops only weeks earlier. The connection was significant to the organizer as the Marieval Indian Residential School was where their grandmother was displaced to. The flags remained to further memorialize the subsequent unmarked graves that continue to be discovered at former residential school sites across the nation.

The City worked with the Indigenous organizer who had originally established the memorial through a community ceremony in 2021. The flags were intended to be temporary, but it was important that the memorial was removed in a respectful and culturally appropriate way. According to the organizer, removing the flags almost two years to the date after they were installed, is significant in Indigenous culture as it relates to annual celebrations of life and memorials.

Although there is still a long way to go, the City of Airdrie has been working towards Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples through various actions including joining the Canadian Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities and working to raise the Treaty 7 Region flag and the Métis Nation of Alberta flag at City Hall. A permanent reconciliation flower bed has also been installed in front of City Hall.