Sable Sweetgrass participated on many committees including the Aboriginal Awareness Week organizing committee, Native Info Exchange, Network of Indigenous Funders of Alberta, and the Western Arts Alliance conference Indigenous programming stream. She also attended many conferences and gatherings such as the Forward Summit, powwows and Sun Dance, and worked on Calgary Arts Development’s engagement framework — Iinitsii (the Blackfoot word for Good Relations) — which embraces a Treaty 7 Indigenous world view. Sable also launched a monthly podcast series: Storytelling Podcast Indigenous Stories featuring conversations with Indigenous artists.

The public art team continues to build good relations with the Mohkinsstsis Guiding Circle, the Indigenous Relations Office at the City of Calgary, and has undertaken training on TRC and Indigenous Relations. Along with City Administration, our public art team and leadership visited the St. Dunstan’s site to offer prayers, deepen our learning, commitment and understanding, as we prepare for the research and engagement phases of a public art project in connection to this tragic history and site. We have also been building good relations with Métis Nation Region 3 for a public art project in collaboration with this community and Métis artists.

We continue our practice of delivering land acknowledgements at all our live events with a focus on making them personal and relevant to the work we are doing and the event. We also engage Elders to start our events in a good way by sharing a blessing or a teaching.

One of our commitments is to show up and be actively present at Indigenous arts events and gatherings. In 2022 those included MT7 productions, the opening of the Métis exhibition at Lougheed House, World Stage Design presentation of Iniskim at Barrier Lake, powwows, community gatherings, art markets, fashion shows, art exhibitions and more. We also held a staff retreat at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, also known as Aisinaipii, that included tours, circles and teachings from Saa’Kokoto. We have found that active participation at these events increases our cultural humility and knowledge.

Our 2022 Living a Creative Life congress featured Dr. Leroy Little Bear as the keynote speaker as well as a session on Indigenous Theatre Making led by MT7’s Michelle Thrush and Neil Fleming. Congress is a day for the community to come together to share ideas and new perspectives.

In 2022 we launched a new arts magazine, Create Calgary, which featured many stories of Indigenous artists including the cover story about award-winning artist Faye Heavyshield as well as other stories within the magazine, such as a feature by Jared Tailfeathers about art on the land.

In 2022 Indigenous filmmaker and Tsuut’ina community leader Kevin Littlelight was appointed to our board, ensuring we have Indigenous representation at the highest levels of leadership in our organization.

Throughout 2022, the Strategy and Public Policy Committee of the board worked with the leadership team to develop the 2023-2026 Strategic Framework titled Ákáakomatapoap, the Blackfoot word meaning we are now going to begin. Taking on a Treaty 7 Indigenous world view is another way to recognize and acknowledge the original peoples and this land.