I love my hometown, Mohkinstsis! I was born and raised here. I have close and extended family living throughout the Bow Valley. This city is where my son was born and where we have chosen to live, learn, work and play. My ties are not just to the city. My ancestors have lived on this land, from Edmonton to Yellowstone, from the Cypress Hills to the Rocky Mountains, since time immemorial. Unlike the vast majority of Calgarians and Southern Albertans, my Blackfoot ancestors did not immigrate here. In the distant past we welcomed other Indigenous people to our lands like the Tsuut’ina and Stoney Nakoda peoples. Yet like so many other Indigenous people who have grown up or lived in this city, I did not feel welcome. Growing up I was frequently told to go back to my reserve, that I did not belong here, and so I was faced with the ugly reality of ignorance and the deep racism that lies in the foundations of this city and amongst many of its citizens.
Despite the racism we faced, my family defiantly refused to leave. I knew more and more Indigenous people from across Turtle Island were choosing to live and work in Mohkinstsis. I could see that there were more new Canadians from around the world making Calgary their home too. I could see the change happening and I wanted to be a part of it. I began to volunteer and work for organizations like the Glenbow Museum and the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, as well as becoming a founding member of the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth and leading Indigenous artists as the president of the Calgary Aboriginal Arts Awareness Society. I also decided to attend university at the U of C and started pushing for changes within that institution as a member of the First Nations Student Association. Where there were no safe spaces for Indigenous women, Indigenous trans women, I made space.
This city has always been my home even though it hasn’t always felt welcoming and only now, in this past year of a global pandemic and anti-racist uprising, has the foundations and awareness of Mohkinstsis/Calgary begun to shift. Looking forward 20 years I can now see this city being a place that every citizen will be proud to call home and where there will be equitable opportunity for everyone.
This city is far from perfect but I do have endless love and hope for my hometown.