The Mayor of Okotoks spent Saturday night in a tipi given to her by members of the Blackfoot people.
In a ceremony held on June 3 at Okotoks’ Laudan Park, Elders Reg Crowshoe, Rose Crowshoe, Dustin Walter, Stewart Breaker, Shelly Eli, and Town of Okotoks Indigenous Relations Advisor Desmond Jackson, all from First Nations within the Blackfoot Confederacy, transferred a tipi to the Town of Okotoks and Mayor Tanya Thorn.
"This is the start of our journey on reconciliation and building relationships, fostering that, and starting a new level of trust and creating space where we both feel safe to participate,” said Thorn following the ceremony.
Also present were CAO Elaine Vincent and Okotoks councillors Brent Robinson, Gord Lang, Ken Heemeryck, Rachel Swendseid and Oliver Hallmark.
The latter two joined Thorn for the night in the tipi, while Jackson stayed next door in his own.
Receiving the tipi from the Elders, the mayor said, was about building relationships.
“That starts with sharing knowledge and understanding, and we need to start there with the sharing of stories and understanding the space that we’re each in, and then it’s about determining together what our path forward looks like,” Thorn said.
"Recognizing our past and the uncomfortable truths of what that past is; that's the only way that we can build a path forward.
"For our council, inclusivity and equality is a huge part of the values that this council has brought forward. It's in our strategic plan, it's the values of our community; this is honouring that in a way that is recognizable by the Indigenous cultures that we want to reconcile with."
Thorn was also given the name Óóhkotok Aakíí, meaning Rock Woman, by Piikani Blackfoot Elder Reg Crowshoe.
Giving the tipi to the town in ceremony was an important aspect of that reconciliation, as Crowshoe put it in a speech following the transfer ceremony.
“What is reconciliation?” Crowshoe said.
“I think if you look at getting together with Okotoks, with elders in the tipi, and putting together that tipi for ethical space so we can have our discussions and gatherings in a safe space, that’s putting back that respect, and that’s putting back that trust, so we can start from here in the beginning with trust and respect in using this ethical space to build reconciliation.”
That is all moving the process of reconciliation along, the elder added.
“I’m so happy that we’re starting in the right direction. I’m glad for Óóhkotok Aakíí, that she recognizes the importance of reconciliation,” Crowshoe said.
“We all have a responsibility; Indigenous, non-Indigenous, everybody in Canada, for reconciliation.”
Jackson explained the tipi is more than a symbolic gesture, but about creating a place for meeting and having important conversations.
“Being a Blackfoot member of the Confederacy, I thought it was really important that the Town had a space where Indigenous people feel comfortable having those tough conversations regarding reconciliation,” Jackson said.
He was pleased to see the transfer take place and what it meant for all parties.
“I’m extremely happy, I think it’s a huge step, it’s a big responsibility,” Jackson said. “You’ve stepped into our world, our oral culture, you have something of ours, and now you have to take care of it.
“That’s what it means not just to Mayor Thorn, but the community as well.”
With a number of traditions and rules around the tipi, Thorn explained it cannot be left up overnight unless someone stays in it, and likely won’t be left unattended.
“We’re going to be very intentional about where we use it and how it’s used,” Thorn said. “For me as mayor, I’m looking forward to potentially hosting a few meetings in there.
“We’ll probably start with some of our neighbouring nations and their councils and begin to get them together so we can just have a conversation.”
