Maylay sparks biography of alberta
By Niabi Kapoor
My name is Niabi Kapoor and I recently joined the Biosphere’s staff as the Content Creator. Attending this Campfire Conversation was the first part of my journey in learning first-hand about the type of work the Biosphere is engaged in. The chance to participate in an engaging, live conversation, has proven to be valuable beyond estimation.
To sit around a campfire is to be surrounded by warmth, comfort and most importantly, a strong sense of community. That is how I felt when attending my first Indigenous Conservation Campfire Conversation on July 30. Before joining the virtual session, I was unsure of what to expect, but any anticipatory nerves quickly subsided when the Biosphere’s Indigenous Engagement Coordinator Bob Montgomery started the session with a warm and heartfelt welcome to all of us attending. With Bob’s words of welcome, and the friendly voices that resonated in response, it quickly became evident that this was a space for learning, open conversation and professional curiosity.
July’s conversation focused on an episode by Porcupine Podcast about Reconciliation Through Conservation, exploring Mining, the Environment and Development that Conflicts with the Rights and Values of Indigenous People. The episode features an interview with Steven Nitah, a Dene from Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation in the Northwest Territories who negotiated a protected area five times the size of Prince Edward Island in the middle of diamond mining county and his traditional territories. Nitah and his team successfully negotiated establishment agreements with the federal government and the Government of Northwest Territories, creating the Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area, National Park and Territorial Protected Area in August 2019. Nitah continues to play a vital role in Indigenous land conservation and preservation today.
Throughout our conversation, there was a collective sense of admiration for Nitah’s tactful approach to his discussio
Iam praying. Sort of. My eyes are cast downward, hands held apart, palms up and slightly cupped, as if holding open an invisible book. That this is not going well is hardly a surprise. It has been a long time, and truth be told I was never shown how to do it properly. My stance is awkward and imitative, a cheap copy of what I have witnessed at the odd solemn occasion that intersected our lives. The last time I tried to pray was more than ten years ago, in Istanbul. It was at the Blue Mosque, a structure so indescribably beautiful, so clearly a tribute to humankind’s transcendence, that its existence seemed to render less significant the promise of the divine.
This place of worship is spare. The pulpit, as it were, is off to the side of the rectangular room. Next to the main hall is an antechamber for ritual ablutions, containing a wash basin and jug perched atop a simple wishbone cabinet. A curtain separating the men’s prayer area from the women’s is not evident today, though one was once erected, many years after both sexes, blissfully ignorant of—or perhaps unconcerned with—tradition, had begun praying together. Rugs cover the hardwood; most are worn thin in spots, perhaps where foreheads met floor. Wind whistles through the building. An eerie wail breaks the silence. I am completely alone here—although to the faithful there is no such thing.
This, the original Al Rashid Mosque, is essentially a museum now, its congregation limited to tour bus voyeurs who, having had their fill of Fort Edmonton’s sexier sites, poke their heads through the front doors and wonder how a mosque, of all things, figured in the early history of northern Alberta. Built in 1938 and relocated in 1991 to a berth in the city’s premier historical park, it is the oldest Muslim house of worship in Canada. From the outside, however, it hardly looks like a mosque at all. Instead, its design evokes the early-twentieth-century Ukrainian Orthodox churches that dot central Alberta’s rural landsca
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The EU’s industrial policy choices must reflect evolving geopolitical dynamics and could be We have always been impressed and inspired by the work of historian laureates in other jurisdictions, like the City of Edmonton. This spawned an idea for the Biosphere - why not become the first Canadian biosphere (we believe) to establish not only an Historian Laureate but also a Visual Arts Laureate position as well? With the generous support of the Edmonton Heritage Council, we are doing just that! This unique approach will assist and further our efforts to capture and share the rich and diverse history and culture associated with, and the creativity inspired by the Beaver Hills. Both individuals will serve as ambassadors and, through various activities, contribute to raising awareness of and appreciation for the history of the region, as well as the visual arts and culture of the region, along with the artists who live and work here. Historian Laureate, Keara Lightning, is a member of Samson Cree Nation, and is currently an MA candidate in the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Her research analyzes the history of environmental management on the Northwestern Plains, exploring how scientific constructions of the landscape have worked to obscure Indigenous ecologies and Indigenous presence. She has previously worked in community engagement and environmental education for initiatives including Out In Schools, GreenUP Ecology Park, and TRACKS Youth Program. Visual Arts Laureate, Ariane Inman, is an Indigenous queer nature illustrator, Métis artist, photographer, and life long birder living in Sherwood Park, Alberta. She likes to illustrate nature from life and her own photographs from her walks in nature in Alberta’s many landscapes. She uses graphite, pencil crayon, acrylic, watercolour. She is self-taught. She has been drawing animals and people for as long as she can remember and is excited by the possibilities of encouraging others to become stewards of nature through art. She was born in the homeland of her a Meet Our Laureates