Treaty 7 Indigenous Artists Transforming Calgary's Public Spaces

Calgary exists on Treaty 7 Territory, the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai Nations), the Iyarhe Nakoda Nations (Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Goodstoney First Nations), the Tsuut'ina Nation, and the Metis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. This is not a preamble or a formality. It is the foundational context for any honest conversation about public art in this city. The land on which Calgary's buildings, streets, and public spaces sit has been shaped by Indigenous presence, knowledge, and creativity for millennia. The recent emergence of Indigenous public art in Calgary's civic spaces represents not a new phenomenon but a long-overdue recognition of voices that have always been here.

Over the past several years, Calgary has made meaningful strides in centering Indigenous artists within its public art infrastructure. Through dedicated programmes, funded commissions, and collaborative initiatives between Treaty 7 Nations and municipal institutions, Indigenous public art has moved from the periphery to an increasingly prominent position in the city's cultural life. This article examines the programmes that are making this work possible, profiles several of the artists leading this transformation, and considers what it means for the future of public art in Calgary.

Calgary's Indigenous Public Art Programmes

Calgary Arts Development, the arm's-length agency responsible for the city's public art portfolio, has established several programmes specifically designed to support Indigenous artists and community-led Indigenous public art initiatives.

Indigenous Public Art Programmes

Calgary Arts Development is working directly with the Treaty 7 Nations and the Metis Nation in Alberta on public art initiatives that are community-led and rooted in reconciliation and cultural revitalization. The stated goals of the programme are to foster inter-community and long-term relationships with community leaders, members, and artists of Treaty 7 and the Metis Nation based on listening, respect, and trust-building; to support the sharing of Indigenous stories through public art in Calgary; and to build capacity for Indigenous artists through development opportunities and commissions.

This programme is structured around collaboration with specific Treaty 7 Nations. Current initiatives include a project with the Iyarhe Nakoda Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Goodstoney First Nations, and a separate project with the Tsuut'ina Nation, both of which are community-led, with Nation members guiding the direction and content of the public art. This is a critical distinction. The work is not being conceived by the City and assigned to Indigenous artists. It is being directed by Indigenous communities, with the City providing the framework, funding, and public space.

Indigenous Place Keeping Programme

The City of Calgary's Indigenous Place Keeping programme provides opportunities to engage with Indigenous culture through art, storytelling, and hands-on activities embedded in public space. The programme includes IndigiTRAILS, a free application available on Apple and Android devices, which features the Remembering Our Children trail at Prince's Island Park. This trail includes seven art installations that focus on the history and ongoing impacts of Indian Residential Schools, creating a contemplative, educational experience within one of Calgary's most visited public parks.

Indigenous Digital Artist Call

The City of Calgary has also launched an Indigenous Digital Artist Call for 2026, celebrating the theme of Indigenous Futurisms: imagining futures rooted in Indigenous knowledge, innovation, and creativity. This call recognises that Indigenous artistic practice extends well beyond traditional media, encompassing digital art, new media, augmented reality, and experimental forms that bridge ancestral knowledge systems with contemporary technology.

Featured Indigenous Artists in Calgary's Public Realm

Kristy North Peigan

Kristy North Peigan, a Piikani First Nation member and Indigenous Treaty 7 artist, has become one of Calgary's most significant voices in public art. A graduate of the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor of Visual Communications Design in Illustration, North Peigan's practice operates at the intersection of traditional Indigenous teachings and contemporary visual culture. Her work is characterised by a surreal, futuristic style that juxtaposes digital painting with oils on canvas, using Indigenous subject matter to portray a modern view of Indigenous voices in portraits and surreal spaces.

North Peigan's public profile in Calgary is substantial. She was the Indigenous Artist in Residence at the Calgary Public Library in 2023 and received the Indigenous Artist Award from Calgary Arts Development that same year. Her exhibition "Nitssaakita'paispinnaan: We Are Still In Control," a six-piece collection with the TREX Exhibition, completed a two-year tour across Alberta in 2022.

In 2023, North Peigan designed a collaborative mural with Gladzy Kei that brought together Indigenous Elders and FilipinX Community Leaders in Mohkinstsis/Calgary. The mural was developed through three community engagement meetings and painted over the summer, with augmented reality elements added in October. This project exemplifies the kind of cross-cultural dialogue that public art can facilitate when it is rooted in genuine community relationships.

More recently, North Peigan collaborated with Knowledge Keeper Darren Weaslechild and art collaborator Elder Grant Little Mustache on the Natoysopoyiis mural at SAIT, merging traditional knowledge with contemporary technologies to create an immersive mural that tells a specific cultural narrative. KINN Studios has had the privilege of collaborating with Kristy North Peigan, and her work exemplifies the depth, rigour, and cultural intentionality that distinguishes Indigenous-led public art from surface-level representation.

Grant Little Mustache

Elder Grant Little Mustache's artistic contributions extend across multiple projects in Calgary's public realm. In 2026, new original artworks by Little Mustache will appear on Calgary Transit buses, bringing Indigenous art into one of the city's most democratic public spaces: the daily commute. The Art Bus programme, administered by Calgary Arts Development, transforms public transit vehicles into mobile galleries, ensuring that Indigenous art reaches Calgarians across every neighbourhood and community, not only those who frequent galleries or designated public art sites.

Sikapinakii Low Horn

Sikapinakii Low Horn is among the artists selected for the 2026 Art Bus programme alongside Collins Amegah, Jae Sterling, Jillian Fleck, Kara Mains, and Phoenix Ning. The programme represents a deliberate effort to diversify both the locations and the audiences for public art in Calgary, and the inclusion of Indigenous artists reflects a commitment to ensuring that Treaty 7 perspectives are visible throughout the transit network.

The Cultural Significance of Indigenous Public Art

It is important to understand what Indigenous public art does that other forms of public art cannot. Indigenous public art in Calgary operates on multiple registers simultaneously. On one level, it is visual: it transforms a wall, a bus, or a park installation into something that demands attention. On another level, it is educational: it communicates stories, histories, and knowledge systems that have been suppressed, marginalised, or simply absent from the public realm for generations. On a third level, it is assertive: it declares that Indigenous people are not a historical footnote in the story of this place but its foundational inhabitants, present and creative.

This is why the process behind Indigenous public art matters as much as the product. When a project like the Iyarhe Nakoda initiative is community-led, when Elders and Knowledge Keepers guide the creative direction, and when the artwork carries culturally specific narratives that have been reviewed and approved by the community, the result is fundamentally different from a commission where an Indigenous artist is hired to produce a decorative work on a theme chosen by someone else. The former is an act of sovereignty. The latter, however well-intentioned, risks reducing Indigenous culture to an aesthetic.

Calgary's public art infrastructure is increasingly structured to support the former approach. The Indigenous Public Art Programmes administered by Calgary Arts Development are explicitly designed to ensure that Treaty 7 communities maintain control over how their stories are told and where they appear in the city's built environment. This represents a meaningful shift in the power dynamics of public art commissioning.

How to Support Indigenous Public Art in Calgary

Supporting Indigenous public art goes beyond appreciation. There are concrete actions that individuals, businesses, developers, and organisations can take to contribute to this evolving landscape.

• Commission Indigenous artists directly. If you are a business owner, developer, or property manager planning a mural or art installation in Calgary, consider engaging an Indigenous artist or including an Indigenous collaborator in the project. Approach this as a relationship, not a transaction. Allow time for meaningful consultation and be prepared to follow the artist's lead on cultural content.
• Engage with existing programmes. The Community-Run Public Art Microgrant, funded by Calgary Arts Development, provides up to $15,000 for community organisations to hire local artists and create public art. Partnering with Indigenous artists through this programme is one of the most direct ways to support new work.
• Visit and share. Download IndigiTRAILS and walk the Remembering Our Children trail at Prince's Island Park. Visit the BUMP murals that feature Indigenous artists. When you share images of these works on social media, credit the artists by name. Visibility matters.
• Educate yourself. Understanding the cultural context of Treaty 7 Territory enriches every encounter with Indigenous public art. The Calgary Public Library's curated list of Indigenous art and artists is an excellent starting point.
• Advocate for inclusion. If you serve on a community association board, a BIA, or an organisation that commissions public art, advocate for dedicated Indigenous representation in your public art strategy. This means not only including Indigenous artists in open calls but ensuring that the commissioning process itself is culturally appropriate.

At KINN Studios, we are committed to working collaboratively with Indigenous artists on projects that honour Treaty 7 Territory. Our collaboration with Kristy North Peigan, Indigenous Treaty 7 artist, reflects our belief that the most powerful public art emerges from genuine creative partnership and cultural respect. If you are exploring a public art project in Calgary that involves or would benefit from Indigenous artistic perspectives, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss it. You can see our broader body of work in our portfolio.