Kiipitakyoyis - Grandmother's Lodge
You can find us in the Faculty of Social Work, on the 3rd floor of MacKimmie Tower.
All are welcome!
Oki, Tânisi, Tawnshi, Âba wathtec, Danit'ada, Aaniin, Kwe’, She:kon, Bonjour, Hello:
Welcome to the Kiipitakoyis Grandmother's Lodge (The Indigenous Social Work Circle and Lodge, in the Faculty of Social Work). The Faculty of Social Work’s Lodge is led by Metis/Cree Elder Kerrie Moore, Director Dr. Terry Poucette (Stoney Nakoda) and Advisor Deandra Neufeld (Mohawk).
The Lodge seeks to enhance the learning journey of Indigenous social work students by providing Elder and counselling supports, ceremonies and cultural activities. Our hope is to create a sense of belonging and community – a family away from home for Indigenous students. Kiipitakyoyis is also committed to providing many learning opportunities for all faculty, staff and students about Indigenous histories, cultures, current realities, languages, knowledges and teachings. We seek to create decolonizing spaces that align with the University’s ii’ taa’poh’to’p principles that honour Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing and connecting.
We welcome all students, staff and faculty into the Lodge for a place to study, learn, engage in ceremony, develop meaningful relationships and to build community together. We are located on the third floor of the Mackimmie Tower and offer a welcoming, earth-based Lodge and ceremonial space.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity and truth ...
... we honour and acknowledge Moh’kinsstis, and the traditional Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Blackfoot confederacy including the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations, as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations. This territory is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3.
We honor and acknowledge our brothers and sisters at our University of Calgary-Lethbridge campus who is also home to the Siksikaitsitapii (Blackfoot).
We acknowledge our brothers and sisters at our University of Calgary-Edmonton campus who reside on Treaty Six Territory which has been the traditional homelands of Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibway/ Saulteaux/Anishinaabe and Inuit.
We acknowledge all Nations – Indigenous and non – who share space and their livelihoods on these lands. We honour the traditions of the First Peoples who have cared for and continuously care for these lands and seek to move together in peace and in good relations.
Connect with yourself during the winter solstice
December 21st marks the winter solstice in Treaty 7 territory and across Turtle Island. This is when the sun shines its shortest time, and the night holds us for the longest time of the year. The Winter Solstice is honored and celebrated uniquely across many indigenous territories, as well as within many different cultures across the globe.
Kiipitakyoyis Elder Kerrie Moore shares that Indigenous People have always followed Mother Earth teachings. “We have come from a time of hunting and gathering during the Fall Equinox to prepare for the time of rest and reflection of letting go, healing and spending time with our relations. It is a time when our stories of Creation are told as well as our own personal stories. A time when families are brought together to help us remember who we are. The stories told are our teachers that will help to guide us to remember who we are again” She also shares that Mother Earth creates that blanket of snow to help the animal and plant medicines to rest and to prepare for renewal. “It is also a time for human beings to rest. reflect and let go of those things that prevent us from moving forward in a good way.”
Kiipitakyoyis wishes you all a restful and restorative time to connect with yourself, and all Relations during the Winter solstice and holiday season.
Elder Kerrie, Terry and Deandra
"In the dark depths of long winter nights, spirits slumber too and allow their stories to be told-these are the storytelling moons. Elders and storytellers who have been given tales to carry speak softly, reverentially, and the people hear them. The people do not merely listen-they hear. To hear is to have a spiritual, mental, emotional or physical reaction to the words. Sometimes, at very special times, you have all four reactions and are changed forever. Share stories, fill cold nights with the warmth of your connections, your relationships; hear each other and be made more. That is the power of storytelling
(Richard Wagamese, Embers, 2016)
For further learning about Winter Solstice from diverse Indigenous perspectives
Winter Solstice is a season of medicine for the body and spirit – Indigenous Tourism Alberta
Blackfoot Winter Count unveiled in Lethbridge | CTV News
Winter Solstice and what it means to Indigenous peoples | CFWE, Alberta's Best Country
Dr. Terry Poucette Named Kiipitakyoyis' New Director
Kiipitakyoyis, and the Faculty of Social Work are pleased to announce that Dr. Terry Poucette has joined us as an Associate Professor (Teaching) and the new Director of Kiipitakyoyis (Grandmothers' Lodge) the Indigenous Lodge within the Faculty of Social Work. Dr. Poucette will also help the faculty in developing our Indigenous strategy. Dr. Poucette joins us from her leadership role with the City of Calgary's Indigenous relations office. Dr. Poucette is a member of the Stoney Nakoda First Nations signatory to Treaty 7 and brings lived Indigenous experience on and off reserve, including inter-generational trauma and leadership of Indigenous helping agencies that work hard to address the legacy of colonization in their communities. Welcome Terry!
Cree Grandmothers' Tea Ceremony
Once a month, Writing Symbols Lodge & Kiipitakyoyis, Grandmother’s Lodge invites women from the campus community and beyond to honour their strength and celebrate their important roles in our communities with a traditional Cree Tea Ceremony.
Cree Grandmothers’ Tea Ceremony
Watch recordings from past UCalgary Indigenous events, webinars and lectures. UCalgary Recorded Indigenous Events
Who We Are
Mazina Giizhik (the One Who Speaks of Pictures in the Sky) Murray Sinclair
We are saddened by the news of the passing of Honourable Murray Sinclair, who was a former judge, Senator and Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential school. Murray Sinclair was more than a champion of justice, he was a relentless advocate for Indigenous rights and a beacon of hope for change. Our hearts go out to his family during this difficult time.
Below are some tributes to the Honourable Murray Sinclair:
“The impact of our dad’s work reached far across the country and the world. From residential school survivors to law students, to those who sat across from him in a courtroom, he was always known as an exceptional listener who treated everyone with dignity and respect. We know that stories of his kindness, generosity, and fairness will circulate for generations to come.”
Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada: “The Honourable Murray Sinclair always walked into dark places with a flashlight so that we can safely follow. A beam of light that cut through injustice and shows the way to hope.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew: “It will be a long time before our nation produces another person the calibre of Murray Sinclair. He showed us there is no reconciliation without truth. We should hold dear in our hearts his words that our nation is on the cusp of a great new era and we must all “dare to live greatly together.”
“Education is the key to reconciliation. Education got us into this mess and education will get us out of it.”
“We know that making things better will not happen overnight. It will take generations. That’s how the damage was created and that’s how the damage will be fixed. But if we agree on the objective of reconciliation, and agree to work together, the work we do today will immeasurably strengthen the social fabric of Canada tomorrow.”
-The late Honourable Murray Sinclair (1951-2024)
Learn more
Video - Murray Sinclair's family, friends say stories of ‘kindness’ will live on
New Book - Who We Are by Murray Sinclair, with Sara Sinclair and Niigaan Sinclair
Key Resources
Ii’taa’poh’to’p – Office of Indigenous Engagement
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action
Reclaiming Power and Place - The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Woman and Girls
First Nations Child and Family Services Caring Society
Back Pocket Reconciliation Action Plan
Hope for Wellness Helpline, 1-855-242-3310,
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
National Indian Residential School Crisis line:
1-866-925-4419 (24hours/7 days week)
About our name: Kiipitakyoyis - Grandmother's Lodge learn more
Blackfoot Elder Clarence Wolfleg names the Indigenous Social Work Lodge, in the Faculty of Social Work
The new name for the Indigenous Social Work Circle and Lodge in the Faculty of Social Work is Kiipitakyoyis (Grandmother's Lodge).
Blackfoot Elder Clarence Wolfleg, from Siksika Nation, led a special naming ceremony on Oct. 5, 2022 in which he presented the name given to the lodge by the creator. Métis Cree Elder Kerrie Moore, MSW, RSW, who serves as the Elder for the Lodge and Wellness Elder for the Faculty of Social Work, Deandra Neufeld, MSW, RSW, the Lodge Advisor and Dr. Ellen Perrault, PhD, RSW, Dean of the Faculty of Social Work received the name on behalf of the Lodge.
"The university is kind of like an encampment, this place where we teach and these students go, it's kind of like a lodge, where they go to ... just like the camp," explained Elder Wolfleg. "So, the thinking is that grandmothers are always there in the camp to provide guidance to their grandchildren, and it's not just their blood grandchildren. All the young people are their grandchildren. Even some of the adults are their grandchildren. So, the young people come to seek guidance in the camp for the way they are thinking, their feelings, or their behaviour.
"So, they go to get balance and to find what is what is missing. People call them the seven values, that they go to find, that they may have lost along the way. So, they come to this Kiipitakyoyis – the Grandmother's Lodge – to seek guidance outside from their studies, so they can get back on track. Something is causing that little gap of learning. So, the grandmothers use the ceremonies, use the things they need – the stories – to guide them. They won't tell them what to do, they just give them a direction. They say, 'Find that direction. We know you can do it.' So, it provides a holistic, you might say, strength to continue on your challenge. That's what it's about. So, the name is Kiipitakyoyis, Grandmother's Lodge." (Pronounced Kiip - i - toyis)
Cultural Protocols and Land Acknowledgments
The first in our series of lunch time conversations about Understanding Indigenous Ways of Knowing. These conversations will include Elders, knowledge keepers and guest speakers from across Turtle Island, to support the University of Calgary community, including Social Work students, staff and faculty to increase their knowledge and awareness about Indigenous peoples and Indigenous communities – so we can walk together in a good way and work towards creating decolonizing practices and spaces.
Elder Kerrie Moore will shared her knowledge and teachings about cultural protocols and Indigenous medicines, and how they are used for developing good relations with others, including why we use tobacco for an offering, why we start with smudge, and how Indigenous medicines are essential in holistic well-being.
Madelaine Robillard, who is of Blackfoot, French and Scottish ancestry, will provided her knowledge, wisdom and guidance on why we do a land acknowledgement, when to do a Land acknowledgment and how to provide this in a respectful way that values Indigenous people’s contributions and ways of knowing, and honors the stories and songs that have lived on the land for thousands of years.
Understanding Indigenous Cultural Gatherings and Social Dances
Have you ever wondered what Pow wow’s and Round Dances are and why Indigenous people do these? Join Traditional Knowledge Keeper Hal Eagletail, a well known Master of Ceremonies of social dances, as he shares his knowledge about Pow wows and Round Dances, and the importance for Indigenous people to gather for these cultural practices. He will also explain the cultural evolution of our Social Dances and how they have changed over time.
Hal says there is much that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can gain by engaging with the other’s culture and values.
Hal’s Bio
Hal Eagletail is a member of the Northern Dene Tsuu T’ina Nation, which is located in the Treaty 7 area of southern Alberta. Hal is a Traditional Knowledge Keeper and is a residential school survivor.