[Resource] Conversations with Calgary’s Indigenous Community

A summary report of Calgary Learns’ community consultation with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and service providers about adult foundational learning

Over the winter of 2023-24, Calgary Learns engaged in a consultation process with representatives from Calgary’s Indigenous community. Calgary Learns staff members had one on one conversations with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and service providers. This report is a summary of input received in these conversations. Elder Wanda First Rider led a validation ceremony for this report with consultation participants and witnesses on May 15, 2024. 

Calgary Learns reconciliation journey has been intentional, purposeful, and emergent. Calgary Learns receives a Community Adult Learning Program (CALP) grant from Alberta Advanced Education to support local, part-time learning programs for adults with foundational learning needs (i.e. up to Grade 9 level) through grants, professional development, and advocacy. We work intentionally with the Indigenous community so the foundational learning needs of Indigenous adults can be better addressed. Our journey started well over a decade ago with our participation on the education funders table of the former Calgary Urban Aboriginal Initiative (CUAI). Over the years we have listened to and learned from the Indigenous community while engaging in a number of projects that support Indigenous adults to build their foundational skills and confidence. In 2013, we received an additional grant specifically for Indigenous programming which then became an ongoing grant stream. As a result, we hired our first Indigenous Grant Liaison and consulted with the Indigenous community to shape our Indigenous granting stream (consultation report). Over the years, we have implemented the recommendations which included parallel processes (oral processes at both application and final reporting), Elder involvement, grants selection informed by Indigenous community leaders, and a focus on professional development to support practitioners with an understanding of history, reconciliation, and practices to support Indigenous adults on their learning journey. We strive to ensure that our granting process supports the basic tenet of “nothing about us, without us” as we work alongside Indigenous communities. Our Indigenous-specific grant-funded programs recommended by the Indigenous leaders have included: cultural programming, Indigenous language development, skills for learning, foundational upgrading, and employment readiness programs.

See the report here