As part of its commitment to the long-overdue need for inclusion and Indigenous-centred rebuilding, the Cochrane Rotary Club has been increasingly listening to the wisdom of elders and knowledge keepers. The club is now also seeking broader engagement and collaboration with Cochranites who self-identify as Indigenous, so as to further honour the principle of “nothing about us, without us.”

 

To this end, the club is convening an Indigenous Action Circle committee, which is supported by a larger Rotary District 5360 Indigenous reconciliation community of practice. This committee includes Rotarians, community leaders, and non-profit representatives. It is guided by an Indigenous advisory council, and informed by the actions of other Albertan communities trying to rebuild as places of mutual respect and justice.

 

The immediate goal of the committee is to support the vision of Indigenous Placemaking in Cochrane through establishment of an Indigenous Innovation Centre.

 

The committee and Indigenous advisory council is now calling for self-identifying Indigenous Cochrane residents to help inform the needs of the centre. There will also be opportunities to volunteer directly alongside in the future as the vision for the Cochrane Indigenous Centre comes into being.

 

The Indigenous advisory council includes Stoney Nakoda elder Tina Fox; traditional dancer/ singer, and youth leader Daryl Kootenay; and writer, educator, doctoral candidate, and Stoney Nakoda member Trent Fox.

 

The centre’s non-profit board, which is still in early stages, will be majority Indigenous. The committee is a project team to help the centre set up.

 

Stoney Nakoda member and knowledge keeper Gloria Snow, who was an advisor for the committee’s successful Tom Jackson Indigenous Centre fundraiser in December, said it is critical that Indigenous community members are involved in these projects of inclusion and truth-telling.

 

“This starts with us, the people and at our grassroots level… It's imperative we do the work in a good way, observing cultural protocol, with grace and respect and carry through on initiatives, moving beyond mere words to real heartfelt and lasting action. Let us begin the long road of healing and perhaps find solace and a semblance of reconciliation along the way. Let’s do this in a good way for our future generations.”

 

As for what the Indigenous Centre will look like, advisor Daryl Kootenay told the Eagle last November that “it'd be a place where lots can happen and any possibility is really possible… we can't really say exactly what it's going to look like because we include everyone's voices and build it together."

 

Elder and advisor Tina Fox said at the Tom Jackson concert in December there are upwards of 5000 First Nations individuals living in and around Cochrane, and they need to be meaningfully included. 

 

"There is now interest in First Nations people and their stories. Ears and eyes are being opened, so we need to build on that, so we can forge a way to build a long-lasting relationship between ourselves and the Town of Cochrane."