Our 2023-2026 Strategic Framework, Ákáakomatapoap, takes a Treaty 7 Indigenous world view in recognition and acknowledgement of the original peoples and the land on which we live and work. 

On our leadership team is Blackfoot artist Sable Sweetgrass, director of Indigenous truth and reconciliation. Sable led the creation of our engagement framework GOOD RELATIONS, alongside our community liaison Sayonara Cunha, based on what good relations means from a CADA perspective. The framework will be launched in the summer of 2025.

Sable and other Indigenous members of our community investment and public art teams have been visiting the Treaty 7 nations to share information about all our granting and public art programs, and especially those focused specifically on Indigenous artists. They also attend many community events, pow wows and Sundances. In 2024, our full staff was invited to take part in a full day session of team-building and Indigenous teachings at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. We also participated in a cultural competency training session with Lowa Beebe.

Sable is a member of the Native Info exchange, sits on the board of the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), is working closely with Tourism Calgary and the Downie Wenjack Foundation on the possibility of an Indigenous music festival here, and works closely with our Indigenous Advisory and Blackfoot Elder Saa’kokoto. The Indigenous Advisory has representation from all the nations in Treaty 7 territory and meets once a month to review our Indigenous granting programs and advise on other issues. In 2024 Sable went to the Indian Art Market in Santa Fe to investigate how we might be able to organize such a market in conjunction with the NAIG in 2027.

In 2024 we hosted the third Aisinna’kiiks Dinner and Dialogue series, which included four dinners in four Calgary high schools: North Trail, Lester B. Pearson, Joane Cardinal Schubert, and Bowness. The dinners involved Elders, artists, teachers, students, and community leaders – four evenings where 80 people gathered to share food, stories and Indigenous teachings. At the fourth dinner, artistic responses to the dinners were presented by the eight commissioned artists who participated throughout: Chantal Chagnon, Elijah Wells, Harvey Nichol, Paula Timm, Priscille Bukhasa, Star Crop Eared Wolf, Tamara Cardinal and Wakefield Brewster.

Create Calgary, our arts magazine featured Indigenous stories, and all the platforms for the Storytelling Project (written stories, podcasts, and web series) amplified Indigenous stories.

All our granting programs are open to Indigenous artists, but we also have three programs specifically designed by and for Indigenous artists: the Original Peoples Investment Program, Indigenous Artist Microgrants, and the Honouring the Children program. Through these programs we invested $846,579 into more than 50 projects by Indigenous artists, artist collectives or arts organizations in 2024.

With many future public art projects centred on Treaty 7 nations, the public art team has started engagement with Blackfoot Confederacy, other Indigenous nations and Otipemisiwak Métis Nation. We hired Indigenous project leads to manage those and other public art projects.

In 2024 Indigenous filmmaker and Tsuut’ina community leader, Kevin Littlelight, continued serving on our board, ensuring we have Indigenous participation at the highest levels of leadership in our organization.