Land Acknowledgement

Treaty 7 territory runs from the Sweet Grass Hills along the 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains that border Alberta and British Columbia. From the vivid turquoise waters of Lake Louise, through the Rocky foothills and north to Red Deer, the territory continues east to the confluence of the Red Deer River and the South Saskatchewan River before curving south through Cypress Hills to connect back to Sweet Grass Hills. 

We would like to start by acknowledging the cosmos that gift us each day and our non-human relations - Land Beings, Underground Beings, Water Beings, and Sky Beings - that have lived on and shared this land with us since time immemorial. The mountains, the water, and the plant life share their sacred knowledge and medicines with us so that we may continue to thrive and have a connection to this land. 

We acknowledge the ancestors of all Treaty 7 Nations who have lived on this land and their relatives who will continue to live here. This territory is the shared traditional and ancestral home of the Blackfoot Confederacy, consisting of the Piikani, Amksapi Piikani, Siksika, and Kainai Nations, as well as the Tsuu’tina and the Îethka Nakoda Nations, which includes the Chinikii, Bears Paw, and Good Stoney First Nations. We also acknowledge that this territory is home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. 

We appreciate and honour the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are with us today and those who have gone before us. With their guidance and blessings we continue to lift Indigenous voices in Mohkinstsis. As long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the river flows, Making Treaty 7 welcomes you to walk with us.