Reconciliation in Alberta

The Public Security Indigenous Advisory Committee, composed of Indigenous leaders, is developing strategies to improve public safety in Indigenous communities and across Alberta.

Alberta Community Justice Grants funded Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations that provide community-based initiatives aimed at addressing legal issues, including the development or enhancement of restorative justice programs and increasing access to justice in family law matters.

The Indigenous Court Work Program provides support and advice to Indigenous people appearing in court. Alberta’s government provides funding to multiple organizations that provide this service in the province.

Indigenous people charged with minor offenses may be able to complete the Alternative Measures Program. This program is meant to remove systemic barriers that may keep Indigenous offenders from getting help. It uses a restorative justice approach and supports Indigenous cultural or spiritual needs.

Indigenous Elders and program coordinators who are familiar with the issues facing Indigenous inmates and communities offer programs in Alberta’s correctional centres, as well as for individuals serving community-based sentences.

Several universities receive grants for inmate programs in correctional centres, which help to deliver Indigenous-specific courses.

The Edmonton Indigenous Court, Calgary Indigenous Court and the St. Paul Healing to Wellness Court are part of the provincial court system and are working to provide culturally relevant, restorative and holistic systems of justice for Indigenous people.

Alberta’s government provides funding for Indigenous police services through the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program.

We provide Indigenous cultural awareness training to all government staff, including corrections officers, peace officers and probation officers. The training underscores the diversity of Indigenous cultures, dispels myths, describes the role of Elders and highlights the programs and ceremonies provided in Alberta’s correctional centres.

The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service also provides other learning opportunities to actively combat systemic issues that are contributing to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system.

Indigenous Panel

Alberta Health is implementing recommendations from its Indigenous Panel to help transform Alberta’s primary health care system to provide accessible, relevant and culturally safe primary health care to First Nations, Métis and Inuit patients.

Indigenous Health Division

The Ministry of Health has created the Indigenous Health Division, dedicated to promoting culturally safe primary health care led by First Nations, Métis and Inuit in Alberta.

Indigenous Primary Health Care Implementation Panel plan

As part of the recommendations from The Way Forward: the Indigenous Primary Health Care Implementation Panel’s plan to advance the recommendations from Honouring Our Roots: Growing Together Towards a Culturally Safe, Wholistic Primary Health Care System for Indigenous Peoples, a community-based Indigenous Patient Navigator Grant Program (Navigator Program) has been created to address the immediate challenges facing Indigenous patients, communities and organizations. It provides financial support to First Nations, Métis and Indigenous-serving organizations to recruit and retain Navigators to support patients through the primary health care system, community and social service agencies and other relevant supports for their health and well-being.

Indigenous Primary Health Care Innovation Fund

Additionally, the Indigenous Primary Health Care Innovation Fund (Innovation Fund) has been created to support Indigenous communities to design and deliver innovative primary health care services and projects.

Indigenous Advisory Council

Alberta’s government created an Indigenous Advisory Council to bring forward local First Nations, Métis and Inuit health priorities, where members will give input on ways to improve the health care system for their communities. The Indigenous Advisory Council is composed of Indigenous community leaders from across Alberta whose unique and distinct perspectives will help Alberta’s government and the new provincial health care agencies identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

Alberta's government supports programs focused on the mental health needs of Indigenous people across the province. Funding is supporting programs like Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) Indigenous Wellness Core and the Honouring Life grants, which support Indigenous communities and organizations to implement community-based, life promotion projects on youth suicide prevention efforts. 

First Nations and Metis Settlements are also eligible to apply for the Youth Suicide Prevention Grant Program. Additionally, government continues to invest in increasing Indigenous access to mental health and addiction services across the province.

Enoch Cree Nation, in partnership with Surgical Centres Inc., is building a state-of-the-art, chartered surgical facility. The Nation is working with Alberta Health Services to offer up to 3,000 publicly funded hip and knee replacements and other joint procedures in the Edmonton area each year.

This will be one of the first surgical facilities built on First Nation land in Canada.

Alberta's government continues to support Indigenous addiction treatment centres and projects across the province, including building five new recovery communities in partnership with Indigenous communities and expanding capacity at existing sites. Learn more about Alberta’s recovery-oriented system of care.

The following resources are also available:

• The Indigenous Support Line can be reached by calling 1-844-944-4744. This service connects Indigenous callers with Indigenous listeners to answer questions and help callers get culturally appropriate care.
  
• The Alberta Indigenous Virtual Care Clinic provides health care access to Indigenous people in Alberta, regardless of whether they live in remote locations or the inner city. Indigenous people in Alberta can access health services, including mental health referrals or counselling, remotely by phone or video appointments.
• The Kainai Transition Centre is a 22-bed, six-month bed-based addiction recovery program that provides patients with Indigenous-based recovery and support to transition back to the community for individuals living with addiction, mental illness and trauma, including people returning from corrections.
• Poundmaker’s Lodge is a bed-based addiction treatment centre that blends Indigenous healing methodologies with western practices. The centre employs Elders, addiction physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, psychologists and other allied health professionals.
• Sunrise Healing Lodge blends Indigenous culture and a 12-step program, allowing clients to work through the 12 steps using cultural practices to connect with their spirituality. 
• The Kottakinoona Awaahkapiiyaawa (Bringing the Spirit Home) safe withdrawal management site operated by the Blood Tribe Department of Health provides a safe transition to addiction treatment and recovery services.
• Spaces through the Morning Star Rising Sun Indigenous Healing Home operated by Oxford House provide a place for individuals to recover from addiction.

Alberta Health Services provides cultural training for its staff and works with the Health Quality Council of Alberta to compile Indigenous feedback on the patient complaint process. This guides improvements to the organizational culture of Alberta’s health system to achieve equality for all people.

Through the Office of the Alberta Health Advocate, an Indigenous Patient Safety Investigator and Advocate has been introduced to investigate incidences of racism during the delivery of health care and to provide culturally safe support to First Nations, Métis and Inuit patients throughout the complaint process. The Patient Safety Investigator and Advocate will provide advice and recommendations to Alberta’s government, identifying learning opportunities and fostering an inclusive health care system.

The Indigenous Health Division has completed 11 in person and 40 virtual sessions with Indigenous leaders, patients and service providers to gather information on racism and patient experience in Alberta. The feedback provided from participants will help to inform a final ‘What we Heard” Report and an Anti-Racism Action Plan.

Programs like the Continuing Care Capital Program, which includes an Indigenous stream, support Indigenous communities in building continuing care spaces that provide culturally appropriate care.

Alberta is rebalancing the education system by including the history and legacy of residential schools and local Indigenous knowledge, wisdom and oral traditions in curriculum to advance reconciliation for all Albertans.

Alberta Education’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit Division works collaboratively with Indigenous students, parents, Elders, governments, communities, organizations and other partners to strive for excellence in Indigenous education.

Alberta's government is pursuing a number of initiatives to support more inclusive and expansive Indigenous education for all students in Alberta. This includes regular review and updating of professional practice standards to ensure all educational professionals have knowledge and understanding of Indigenous cultures, experiences and perspectives, including the legacy of residential schools and treaties.

Indigenous student supports provide financial assistance in Alberta’s adult learning system.

Other supports for Indigenous learners include:

• Foundational Learning Assistance provides funding to First Nations colleges and other Indigenous training providers for tuition, fees, books, supplies and living allowances for upgrading, basic education and integrated training programs.
• Careers: The Next Generation delivers programs such as the Indigenous Youth Internship Program, which is helping Indigenous youth explore careers through school, community and industry collaboration.
• Indigenous Post-secondary Mental Health Grant is available to First Nations Colleges and mainstream post-secondary institutions in Alberta to help promote positive mental health and accessible supports.

Project funding is also available to help Indigenous institutions offer programs with an Indigenous focus.

Through the Indigenous Learning Initiative, Alberta Public Service employees are continually encouraged to complete the Indigenous Introductory Training, including front-line workers and employees of government agencies, boards, and commissions.

An advanced Indigenous cultural protocol training course is also available. These courses help Alberta’s public service better promote, represent, understand and work with Indigenous Peoples in the province.

The Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) is a Crown Corporation that helps create new, long-term revenue streams for Indigenous communities by providing low-cost loan guarantees for large, low-risk investments in the natural resources, agriculture, telecommunications, transportation and tourism sectors.

Alberta’s government launched a long-term provincial Tourism Sector Strategy that includes Indigenous tourism to help tell Alberta’s story and strengthen economic development.

The Aboriginal Business Investment Fund (ABIF) helps Indigenous community-owned businesses create jobs and improve socio-economic outcomes by funding the capital costs of economic development projects.

The Economic Stream of the Indigenous Reconciliation Initiative (IRI) provides flexible funding to help strengthen economic outcomes by funding capacity and opportunity development projects.

The Northern and Regional Economic Development Program funds initiatives led by Alberta municipalities, Indigenous communities and non-profit organizations that promote regional economic development and diversification.

The Small Community Opportunity Program provides grants for non-profits, Indigenous and small communities to help build capacity in agriculture, small business and local economic development.

The Employment Partnerships Program (EPP) is a federal-provincial partnership that creates opportunities for Indigenous people through targeted training programs and industry partnerships. It also helps businesses connect with Indigenous workers.

The Alberta Indigenous Intern Program provides First Nation, Métis and Inuit Indigenous post-secondary graduates with paid, professional work experience in the Alberta Public Service and community organizations.

Alberta also works with and supports Indigenous organizations, like the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, that provide job readiness and retention programs to Indigenous people across the province.

• Alberta’s government collaborates with Indigenous communities to update its policies and practices to support families in ways that connect culture, ceremony, language and history.
• Alberta’s Family Resource Networks provide prevention and early intervention services that help Indigenous families remain resilient, strong and healthy by connecting them with culturally informed programs.

Alberta’s government supports women’s shelters that provide culturally responsive care for Indigenous families impacted by violence. Many shelters in Alberta work with Elders and other respected leaders to strengthen their services through trauma-informed education and other culturally relevant training. Various shelters offer cultural connectors that support Indigenous women and children. Alberta’s government provides grants to programs focused on the prevention of family violence and sexual violence, including specific funding for culturally appropriate parenting programs for Indigenous families.

The Government of Alberta formally apologized to Sixties Scoop survivors and their families in 2018. Alberta’s government continues to work closely with the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta to help shape how government can meaningfully promote awareness and healing.

The Indigenous Cultural Understanding Framework was developed and informed by Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers and is used to educate Children and Family Services’ staff about Indigenous histories, cultures, perspectives and worldviews. This helps influence their work in a way that supports better outcomes for Indigenous youth and families. 

Indigenous Family Resource Networks (FRNs) give Indigenous families access to culturally appropriate prevention and early intervention programs and services. In addition to FRNs, Children and Family Services funds 15 early intervention programs delivered on First Nations, allowing easier access to quality supports for parents, youth and families.

• If a child cannot remain safely in their own home, kinship care is always viewed as the first placement option to maintain connections between the child and family. In June 2024, Alberta’s government implemented a culturally responsive approach to assessing and supporting kinship caregivers. Staff training is co-facilitated with Indigenous Elders and an Indigenous worldview is intentionally introduced throughout the tools and practice.
  

• Children and Family Services child intervention practitioners ensure a cultural plan is developed and adhered to for every Indigenous child and youth in care to maintain and build connections with extended family and community.

• Children and Family Services has a responsibility to ensure Indigenous communities are involved earlier in planning, and to support enhanced family searching and cultural connection.

• Children and Family Services recruits, trains and supports foster caregivers who are able to support positive cultural and community connections for Indigenous children in their care. Child intervention practitioners are guided by a practice framework that includes principles focused on Indigenous experiences, family preservation, a strengths-based approach, connection, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Through intentional focus and in partnership with Indigenous Services Canada, Children and Family Services has improved the identification process to ensure Indigenous children and youth in care receive culturally appropriate supports and services. Identification supports Indigenous children, youth and their families in pursuing status under the Indian Act, which leads to better outcomes for connection to family, culture and community. 

Alberta’s government shares child intervention data and information with the public. Statistics about children in care are publicly accessible at: child intervention information and statistics summary. 

Our goal is to continuously improve systems to better support the safety and well-being of children receiving child intervention services. 

We know Indigenous children and youth receiving services thrive best when they can stay close to their culture, community and family.

Children and Family Services is committed to working with First Nations to transfer authority as they exercise jurisdiction over child and family services under federal legislation: An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

Jordan's Principle supports equal access to a wide range of health, social and educational products, supports and services to help meet the distinct needs of First Nations children in Canada, wherever they live. 

As the first jurisdiction in Canada to sign an agreement on Jordan's Principle, Alberta’s government is demonstrating its commitment to reconciliation and working to achieve better health outcomes for First Nations children and youth.

The Royal Alberta Museum has been active in repatriating sacred ceremonial objects to Blackfoot First Nations with the support of a Blackfoot Confederacy Advisory Committee on Museum Relations since 2004. The museum is in the midst of an engagement process that will result in a new Repatriation Framework. This Framework will provide a transparent and accessible mechanism to repatriate objects to all First Nations and Indigenous communities in Alberta.

Indigenous content at the Royal Alberta Museum is presented in a variety of ways, including hundreds of objects on display, text panels translated into Indigenous languages and films that can be heard or captioned in many Indigenous languages. The museum cares for about 18,000 objects of Indigenous origin, from the mid-1800s to the present. As the collection grows, museum staff work with Indigenous people to ensure that contemporary and historic experiences are represented in the collections and in displays.

The Royal Alberta Museum follows protocols provided by Elders and Knowledge Keepers regarding how to handle, care for and provide access to the collection. Museum staff facilitate collections visits for community members on an ongoing basis.

The Royal Alberta Museum and Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump provide free admission to all Indigenous Peoples.

The Public Library Services Branch maintains an annual grant program to help eliminate fees and provide access to the Public Library Network’s resources for people living on First Nations and Metis Settlements.

Alberta’s government routinely engages with Indigenous communities to identify Indigenous place names in Alberta.

A web map of Alberta’s geographical place names was launched in January 2025 and includes the history and insight of new and traditional names across the province.

Alberta’s government has also created a new building naming policy that recognizes the importance of Indigenous place-naming.

The Cultural Stream of the Indigenous Reconciliation Initiative supports Indigenous-led initiatives that enhance, protect or revitalize Indigenous languages, heritage, culture and arts. 

Alberta’s government also provided funding to help Voices of the Land share stories from Indigenous people in Alberta on a respectful, community-owned digital space that is open to all library users.

Through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA), the province provides support for Indigenous arts through grants, programming and art acquisition. Indigenous Arts Individual Project Funding supports the development of individual Indigenous artists and arts administrators.

The foundation has also taken steps to ensure there is representation of Indigenous artists in the AFA Collection.

Provincial funding helped open the Indigenous Languages Resource Centre (ILRC) at the Central Library in Calgary. Designed with Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers from Treaty 7, the ILRC is a culturally significant space to teach language and culture, share information and encourage storytelling.

Through participation in the Education sub-table of the Blackfoot Confederacy Protocol Agreement, Alberta’s government provides support for students to visit multiple locations for language and land-based learning as part of the ongoing efforts to recognize, revitalize and retain the Blackfoot language.

The Prairie Indigenous E-Book Collection is a first-of-its-kind partnership between Alberta’s government and the Book Publishers of Alberta.

Stories by Indigenous authors and writing about Indigenous culture are now easier to find. Works in this collection are available for online borrowing from local libraries in Alberta.

Alberta's government provided $8 million to 43 Indigenous communities and organizations through the Residential Schools Community Research Grant. This funding is supporting Indigenous-led engagement and research into the documented and undocumented deaths and burials of Indigenous children at residential school sites across Alberta.

Learn more about residential school research and recognition. 

Alberta’s government provides targeted funding for mental health supports to help Indigenous people navigate through intergenerational trauma. This includes ongoing funding for the Indigenous Wellness Core.

Alberta's government permanently waived fees for legal name changes of Indigenous people who lost their names through residential school experiences and the Sixties Scoop. Access to vital records has also been expanded, especially as it relates to eligibility for First Nation and Métis membership rights and applications for other programs and services.

Research and location information about residential schools across Alberta has been compiled and incorporated into the Listing of Historic Resources. The listing identifies the nature and locations of historic resources on the landscape and helps to ensure that these resources are properly managed in the course of development.

The Provincial Archives of Alberta supports the research efforts of Indigenous individuals and organizations to build relationships and provide access to records.

Alberta government archivists also helped develop A Reconciliation Framework for Canadian Archives as part of a national taskforce. This process has removed barriers between Indigenous record keepers and Canadian archives.

More information is available in the Resource Guide for Researching and Recognizing Residential School Sites. 

The Premier’s Council on MMIWG2S+ was established to ensure the advice and lived experience of Indigenous women and two spirit plus (2S+) people inform actions Alberta’s government undertakes to address and prevent violence.

The Community Support Fund supports Indigenous-led initiatives that address violence and increase the safety and economic security of Indigenous women, girls and 2S+ people.

Alberta’s government funds initiatives that support the safety and wellbeing of Indigenous women, girls and 2S+ people. For example, annual funding is provided to the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women to support Indigenous women’s well-being.

Alberta’s Family Information Liaison Unit provides information and connections to services for families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Alberta's government supports women’s shelters that provide culturally responsive care for Indigenous families impacted by violence, including the Awo Taan Healing Lodge Society, which offers Indigenous-led holistic services guided by traditional teachings.

Many Alberta shelters work with Elders and other respected leaders to strengthen their services through trauma-informed education and other culturally relevant training. Various Catholic Social Services shelters offer cultural connectors that support Indigenous women and children.

Alberta's government provides grants to programs dealing with the prevention of family violence and sexual violence, including specific funding for culturally appropriate parenting programs for Indigenous families.

The First Nations and Métis Women’s Councils on Economic Security provide important advice about meaningful actions Alberta’s government can take to improve the social and economic security of Indigenous women, their families and their communities in Alberta.

Land-use planning is important for managing Alberta’s environment and supporting economic development. Alberta engages with Indigenous communities and organizations to gather their feedback and inform land-use plans.

Alberta's Future Leaders Program collaborates with Indigenous communities in Alberta to provide annual summer youth programs.

The first of its kind in the province, the Anti-Racism Action Plan outlines our commitment to diversity and removing systemic barriers to accessing government programs and services, ensuring Albertans have fair access to information, resources, services and opportunities. When developing the plan, we gathered input from people across Alberta, including Indigenous communities, to help ensure future government actions to address racism are effective and inclusive.

Since its launch, significant progress has been made including actions to support community-based organizations and First Nations and Métis groups to identify and address systemic and social barriers, and develop effective community supports. We will continue to listen to and work with racialized individuals and Indigenous peoples while implementing this plan.

A health and safety toolkit was developed to enhance First Nation, Métis and Inuit employer and worker awareness and knowledge of occupational health and safety (OHS) information and resources. The toolkit supplies employers and workers with the tools they need to stay healthy and safe on the job and foster a positive health and safety workplace culture.

Alberta’s Broadband Strategy is helping rural and Indigenous communities connect to high-speed internet, improving digital literacy, supporting livelihoods and increasing access to opportunities around the globe.