Originally appeared in the Calgary Herald, June 6, 2025.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC’s) 94 calls to action created a “tsunami of Indigenous strategies across the country,” says Dr. Reg Crowshoe, an Indigenous Elder and former chief of the Piikani First Nation in southern Alberta.
The intentions were good but the challenge, says Crowshoe, is that many of the strategies were not done in consultation with Indigenous communities. Companies and organizations used Western-based systems and practices such as staff meetings, policies and reports to drive this work. They did not have knowledge of the Indigenous oral way of doing and the strategies did little to address significant change around the intergenerational trauma and legacy of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.
Crowshoe says when United Way of Calgary and Area (United Way) contacted him and his wife, Dr. Elder Rose Crowshoe, about working together on an Indigenous strategy, the organization took a different approach.
“United Way was actively looking for the right approach. They were asking the right questions: what is an Indigenous strategy in an Indigenous system?” Reg Crowshoe says.
An integrated approach
Those questions have informed a strategy, now in its fifth year, called Akak’stiman — roughly translated in the Blackfoot language as a Journey of Creative Planning to Achieve Goals. This strategy guides business practices, Indigenous-focused investments and relationships with Indigenous communities. It reflects United Way’s commitment to building relationships with Indigenous people by recognizing and honouring both Western and Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.
Reg Crowshoe says United Way came “to learn rather than impose, allowing for the opportunity for Indigenous people to define what Akak’stiman is.”
Elders Drs. Reg and Rose Crowshoe helped shape United Way’s Akak’stiman strategy, which guides both partnerships with the community, Indigenous organizations and the organization’s overall approach to its work.
Joanne Pinnow, director of the Akak’stiman strategy, says that while the organization had funded Indigenous programs for many years, it knew it had to elevate its Indigenous work following the TRC report.
“United Way took a flexible approach since we knew it was best to have the Elders and community lead us in their own way,” says Pinnow. “Sometimes the Elders would tell us to slow down. Other times, they would tell us to hurry up. The process was extremely effective and it helped us become students of the Elders and to gain their trust.”
That’s a refrain echoed by the organization’s leadership.
“Akak’stiman has fundamentally changed how we show up as an organization,” says Karen Young, president and CEO. “It’s not a checklist or a program — it’s a long-term commitment rooted in relationship, ceremony and trust. We didn’t come with answers; we came to listen, learn and walk alongside Elders and communities. That’s what reconciliation requires.”
As the work of Akak’stiman began to spread, funding agencies, other local United Ways and reserve communities wanted to learn more and begin their own journeys. It quickly became obvious to United Way that a “cut-and-paste” approach would not work. It is important that organizations go on their own unique learning journeys with Elders, who may or may not have different teachings.
Leading the way — together
United Way uses the teachings from the Akak’stiman strategy to initiate projects and guide the organization in how does its work.
This includes guiding how United Way enters into funding agreements with partner organizations — such as a tea dance, a parallel process to the Western standard of emails and PowerPoint presentations. “It’s a chance to hear information orally and strengthen relationships in a communal way,” says Pinnow. This approach was also adopted with the Miskanawah Community Services Association’s funding agreement for Diamond Willow Youth Lodge, a space where Indigenous youth can connect with their peers and learn from Elders.
United Way investments are also funding a group of agencies that offer programs and services for Indigenous people, focusing on healing from intergenerational trauma. These agencies are regularly brought together to share learnings and receive support. Some of the agencies involved in that work include Miskanawah, the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY), the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, Hull Services, YMCA, Trellis, Closer to Home, Elizabeth Fry Society, Calgary Legal Guidance and the Children’s Cottage Society.
Connect 2025
On June 24, as part of United Way’s Connect 2025 event, the focus will be on a decade of action after the TRC Report. With a theme of Truth and Reconciliation: 10 Years Later, the event is open to anyone either in person or online. Interested individuals, agencies, sponsors, government officials, Indigenous groups, band councils and other organizations from across Canada are welcome.
Reg Crowshoe will be a keynote speaker at the event along with Indigenous journalist and author Niigaan Sinclair. If that name sounds familiar, it should — Niigaan is the son of the late Murray Sinclair, who was appointed to the Canadian Senate, serving from 2016-21. A Companion of the Order of Canada, Murray Sinclair also served as chairman of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from 2009 to 2015. A panel discussion will also highlight the event, featuring representatives from the sectors identified in the 94 calls to action from the report.
A table-talk session at the event will enable participants to reflect on learnings and inspire others to become allies. Information on Connect 2025 and a summary of the Akak’stiman journey can be found at calgaryunitedway.org/impact/indigenous-strategy. You can learn more about Connect 2025 and register here.