Indigenous society frustrated by delay in setting up riverside meeting place

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Plans to create an indigenous gathering place at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers are taking longer than originally planned, much to the frustration of the group involved.

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A notice of motion filed with the Calgary city council in January proposed a transfer of some five acres of land to the Calgary Indian Gathering Place Society. The land is already owned by the City of Calgary and is occupied under an agreement with the Fort Calgary Preservation Society.

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The site is conceived as a place of healing where Indigenous Peoples can meet, connect and share traditional knowledge and teachings.

The original schedule was to submit a report on the land transfer by the third quarter of this year.

On Thursday, a council committee heard that the land transfer process is taking much longer than expected for various reasons, and that the location of a suitable parcel has not yet been finalized. The city proposes a new deadline for the third quarter of 2023.

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John Fischer, co-chairman of the Calgary Indian Gathering Places Society, said his organization was “shocked” to learn of a year-long delay.

“That surprised us, because we assumed that while there were some frustrations through the real estate departments and other parts of the city, we were relatively on track for that report to move forward in the third quarter of this year,” Fischer said.

He said society hasn’t felt like an equal partner in the discussions, and that may have added to the sense of surprise and frustration they felt when they learned of the delay.

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“We have been constantly, since last February, asking to have a seat at the table in the discussions that are taking place around various elements of the land transfer, and to give us an idea of ​​the processes and the expected timeline and milestones. for the project,” Fischer said, adding that the request was not honored.

The society has told the city that the new timeline is unacceptable and would like to see efforts redoubled to speed up the process, in part because of the loss of seniors.

Fischer said society believes the city also wants things to move faster.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said she thinks the city’s attempt to eliminate all risks of land transfer is part of what is slowing things down. She said that while that is an important job, she also believes that communication with society could be better.

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“This is not just a land transaction that we have seen in the past,” the mayor said. “This is something very important, and it is a step that we have to take together with the indigenous partners. So we have to do it very carefully.”

The city has a framework for land transfers to nonprofits, but this is different for many reasons, including the fact that the land has an occupancy license from the Fort Calgary Preservation Society.

The mayor said the sensitivity of the file also complicated the process.

“I think what is different this time is our commitment to reconciliation. And the fact that we want to do this right.”

Fisher said society’s frustrations don’t mean they’re giving up.

“We are not going to give up and walk away by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. “We are really committed to moving forward.”

He said that the practice of his society is to be very direct and open in communications, and that will continue.

“When the city was talking about extending the timeline, we were listening,” Fischer said. “But we hasten to communicate that if that is the case, we need to know what it really means and how we can move the timeline forward.”

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