Partners in Planning – Learning from Place: Indigenous Planning and Placemaking on Medicine Hill

Join us for this unique session of learning into Indigenous planning and placemaking through the examination of Medicine Hill. During this half-day session, we will learn from place and explore the significance of this area in Calgary and the broader territory it situates within alongside several special guests. The focus of the session will centre around three parts, including:

1.    Traditional Knowledge and the Significance of Medicine Hill

To begin, participants will learn of the importance of planning policy to Indigenous content at The City of Calgary and how Medicine Hill evolved with insights from Blackfoot Traditional Knowledge Keepers starting in 2014.

2.    The Archaeological Significance of Medicine Hill

The session will then shift to exploring the archaeological significance of Paskapoo Slopes, including the relevance of five bison pounds and the area’s significance as one of the most highly concentrated archaeological sites in Alberta.

3.    Design and Indigenous Placemaking

With a grounding in traditional knowledge and archaeology, participants will then learn of the contemporary landscape designs and features at Medicine Hill and how the design process evolved through an iterative design process alongside Traditional Knowledge Keepers. Focusing on Indigenous Placemaking, participants will learn about subtle ways that Indigenous worldviews informed design choices and outcomes.

4.    Final Thoughts and Questions

To conclude, the session will end with some final thoughts from presenters into the importance of policy and how reconciliation has a place in planning practices. There will also be an opportunity for questions from participants to continue the discussion.

Meeting location: Medicine Hill Walking Tour – Paskapoo Slopes (420 Na’a Plaza SW, Calgary, AB T3H 6A4) Note: Save-On-Foods Parking Lot