BANFF – A guiding policy document that will help direct the Town of Banff in being respectful, cooperative and active partners in reconciliation is out for public feedback.
The municipality is seeking input on the draft Indigenous commemorative framework, primarily developed through discussions with First Nations consultation advisors and traditional knowledge keepers, via the Town’s website until Feb. 3.
Manager of strategic initiatives and special projects, Randall McKay, said giving people a chance to weigh in on the framework was outlined as a matter of importance by Indigenous partners working on the document. However, public outreach is less formal as compared to Banff’s community plan.
“[This is] partly because of the nature of the engagement that’s been held to date and recognizing there’s still more to come with First Nations partners we need to circle back with,” said McKay at a Dec. 19 council meeting.
“We didn’t plan for any specific kind of outreach, but we’re going to use this document online on Banff.ca to give people a chance to comment on it. …We wanted to push it out to the public to see if there’s any thoughts about it or if there’s anything that could help us re-frame or amend and adjust the document.”
After many years of the municipal government lacking a process for Indigenous recognition, ceremony, and dialogue, the framework aims to foster an approach to build and maintain active relationships for years to come.
The 43-page draft document covers eight sections, beginning with its introduction and purpose, followed by objectives, key actions, commitments and implementation. It also includes a long list of acknowledgements and appendices.
“The actions are quite broad and they encompass a number of different items, including a need to develop more policy, strengthen relationships, support learning and foster open engagement and continuous dialogue,” said McKay.
At the framework’s core are seven guiding principles – the Seven Sacred Teachings of respect, honesty, wisdom, love, humility, truth and courage.
McKay said that section of the framework was recently revised following a meeting with Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation partners.
“There were a few epiphanies along the way in terms of the many conversations that were held,” he said.
That meeting was about looking at the Seven Sacred Teachings as a way of crystallizing those values and Indigenous ways of thinking, which ended up shifting the document “quite dramatically.”
“I think it’s important to note that since work first commenced on this document, the focus on historical commemoration has certainly shifted to a need for a framework of ongoing engagement and current involvement of Indigenous peoples within our region and beyond,” said McKay.
“It’s much more than a commemorative document.”
Engagement is ongoing with partners from Treaty 7 First Nations, including the Blackfoot Confederacy, Îyârhe Nakoda First Nation and Tsuut’ina First Nation, as well as the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3, and Ktunaxa Nation and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation in B.C.
McKay noted much of the knowledge that is shared during meetings is of oral tradition to Indigenous peoples, meaning it should only be shared in-person. This has led to a lengthy engagement process dating back to July 2021, with much more still on the horizon, but it has been an important and required aspect of relationship-building.
“It’s really been quite a rich discussion and has involved a great deal of listening as opposed to talking,” he said.
“You end up having somewhat of a colonial perspective just by virtue of writing these things down, but it’s about the listening and trying to translate some of the thinking that is being presented to us, and just the comments and observations about place, about landscape, and about who we are and where we are, and how this land was used for centuries by Indigenous peoples.”
Coun. Chip Olver thanked all the Indigenous partners involved in the outreach process for investing their time into creating the framework, especially during a period when Parks Canada, Banff and Lake Louise Tourism and other provincial and federal organizations are carrying out similar engagement processes with Indigenous peoples.
“I think there’s a limited number of people who are able to participate and they’ve all been so generous with their time to come forward,” said Olver. “And thinking about when there was little to no consultation to this time where it’s so intense – it’s taken lots of time from many people, and I so appreciate that contribution to this process.”
While Coun. Ted Christensen supported seeking public feedback on the document, he said he hoped to see more tangibility in terms of when and how to implement the actions and commitments highlighted.
“I was looking for something to move ahead on,” he said. “I’d like to bound ahead if we could, to get a little better grasp on what we’re doing.”
McKay said a timeline could potentially be added to some of the actions, but Town manager Kelly Gibson cautioned against assuming any projects would move ahead without first having council approve the document.
“This is the framework. Once this is approved then we have direction on how to move out and how to seek information on that,” Gibson said.
Mayor Corrie DiManno thanked McKay for his efforts leading the initiative and drafting the framework, emphasizing the importance of building and re-building relationships with Indigenous peoples.
“In the spirit of the guiding principles of the Seven Sacred Teachings, I would like to say with honesty that my hope is this framework will help our organizations be more confident and comfortable working in a space where we can identify matters of common interest, explore opportunities to collaborate on joint initiatives, policies and strategies, and seek common ground for which to reconcile matters of historical, cultural and traditional significance,” DiManno said.
“It will be hard to hear some of the truths, it will be hard to change some of our colonial ways, but honouring the truth and learning traditional practices will help to build the trust to work meaningfully toward reconciliation. Which benefits all of us treaty people.”
The Indigenous commemorative framework will return to council sometime before the end of March to seek final endorsement, after the public engagement period ends.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
