Definitions
Story: An account of past events in someone’s life or in the evolution of something (1).
Ecology: The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings (1).
Treaty 7: Signed September 22, 1877 between the newly formed Canadian government and the Blackfoot (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), Tsuut’ina, and Iyarhe Nakoda was initially thought to be a peace treaty by the later, but ultimately turned into a land transfer that is still impacting our lives today.
Who Are We?
Stories of Ecology – An Ecological Guide of Treaty 7 is a project started by a collective of people with a desire to create an accessible educational resource and foster a deeper relationship amongst people and place. This resource will compile a collection of stories from people across Treaty 7 highlighting the many different and unique ecological elements that have shaped individuals today. As a group, we strive to be accountable through compassionate connections and hold space for sharing and vulnerability.
Values
Accessibility, Relationships (amongst people and place), Accountability, Compassionate Connection, Vulnerability
Vison
To support and strengthen an ecologically conscious community for present and future generations of the Treaty 7 Territory by cultivating compassionate connections between people and place.
Mission
Through the collection of stories, we will be creating an ecological resource guide for educators and individual learning, highlighting the connection to place, plants, animals, and waterways. Throughout this process, we hope to build community and hold space for conversations from the multifaceted perspectives of the people of Treaty 7 today.
The Team: Audrey Lane Cockett, Madison Galloway, Nicole Henbry, Nancy Philips
Follow us on Instagram: @audreylane.c and @storiesofecology
Follow Alberta Bluets on Facebook for event updates!
How Are We Doing This?
Collection of Stories
We will be conducting interviews from individuals who call Treaty 7 home via virtual meetings, phone calls, and when safe to do so, in person.
Sharing of the Resource Guide
We will have an accessible resource available online at the end of this project, documenting what we have done. It is intended as a resource for individuals and educators.
Accountability
We will be sharing our process via social media, highlighting those we interview and giving a sneak-peak to the information covered in the completed guide.
Our intentions are to go through this process in a good way, to platform a diversity of people, plants, animals, and ecosystems, and to include voices from all nations of Treaty 7.
Throughout this process, we will be rooted in compassion and will work to engage with truth and reconciliation, decolonization, and intersectional ecofeminism.
In our interview process, we will strive to be inclusive of people with a diversity of experience such as queerness, gender, disability, age, race, etc.
(Reference: 1 – Oxford Dictionary)
