Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society - Calgary

Oki, Danit’ada, Aba Wathtech, Tansi, and Greetings.

Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society first began as an idea in 2012 when Calgary became the Cultural Capital of Canada and Michael Green was the curator of this yearlong celebration. He brought together some friends, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and we sat together at a table and asked ourselves, "How can we create something about the land we live on that’s not only entertaining, but also historically accurate and from an Indigenous perspective?"

We then invited in a creative team and Elders from all the surrounding communities, and we posed the question, “What do we know about Treaty 7?" As artists we knew very little, but the Elders opened up an incredible bundle of transferred knowledge from their grandparents. It became a profound and life changing relationship between artists, Elders, and this land we all call home.

Our first staged production premiered in September of 2014 under a huge circus tent during a freak snowstorm, which almost shut the whole city down. Yet, people lined up each night with their blankets and parkas to watch the stories that transpired; witnessing a pure magic that would forever change the theatre scene in Calgary.

Now, as the Artistic Director of Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society, it is my genuine intention to continue honouring the legacy shared by our Elders and our past leadership, as there are many people that have contributed to the love and care it takes to tell these stories. It is also important that we continue to offer a safe place for Indigenous artists to be able to explore their own truths.

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We hope you will join us this season and in the years ahead as we expand beyond the stories of the treaty. Making Treaty 7 is now producing shows written by Indigenous writers and exploring what it truly means to be Indigenously led. We are proud to celebrate artists from this territory and beyond.