Job Title:Indigenous ProgrammingCoordinator

Department:Indigenous Programming and Experience

Position Type:Permanent Full-Time

Hours: 35hours per week

Application Deadline: March 4 2026

The Invitation:
We invite someone who carries their teachings with care walks with humility and strength and is ready to share listen and grow alongside community. This role is about weaving Indigenous voices into the fabric of Heritage Park so that every visitor experiences not only history but living culture.

The Invitation:

We invite someone who carries their teachings with care walks with humility and strength and is ready to share listen and grow alongside community. This role is about weaving Indigenous voices into the fabric of Heritage Park so that every visitor experiences not only history but living culture.

Department Overview:

The Indigenous Relations & Programming department supports Heritage Parks commitment to truth and reconciliation cultural inclusion and authentic storytelling. The department develops and delivers Indigenous-led programming community partnerships and advisory structures that strengthen Heritage Parks relationships with Treaty 7 Nations Métis communities and urban Indigenous groups. The portfolio integrates Indigenous knowledge protocols and perspectives into the Parks operations guest experiences and long-term planning.

The Indigenous Relations & Programming department plays a vital role in advancing Heritage Parks commitment to truth and reconciliation cultural inclusion and authentic storytelling. This department leads the development and delivery of Indigenous-led programming fosters meaningful community partnerships and establishes advisory structures that strengthen relationships with Treaty 7 Nations Métis communities and urban Indigenous groups.

The portfolio integrates Indigenous knowledge protocols and perspectives into all aspects of Heritage Parks operations guest experiences and long-term planning. Heritage Park is dedicated to a parallel lens approachhonouring Indigenous Knowledge systems (teaching learning research) and ways of knowing (policy procedure and practice) as equal and inseparable from Western Knowledge.

A key commitment includes embracing Oral Storytelling practices which support both the sharing of existing knowledge and the creation of new understandings. This includes validating transitional stories rooted in ceremonial frameworks and recognizing alignment stories that emerge during ceremonial transitions. These stories will inform and evolve Heritage Parks smudge protocol becoming part of the Parks living truth.

Through this process Heritage Park defines and shares the lessons learned from new knowledge contributing to enriched teachings and deeper understanding. This journey is shared collectively moving through levels of learning within the circle of jurisdiction and spirit.

Who You Are:
UnderYou may have walked many paths through ceremony through community work through teaching or through formal study. What matters most is that you:

• Carry your own story and teachings with integrity.
• Have experience working with Indigenous communities and building respectful partnerships.
• Are comfortable guiding conversations about history culture and reconciliation.
• Bring creativity adaptability and a willingness to learn.

What We Value:

• Relationality: Working together guided by respect reciprocity and responsibility.
• Decolonial practice: Moving beyond institutional checkboxes centering Indigenous perspectives in decision-making and storytelling.
• Storytelling: Honoring oral traditions and recognizing that stories are teachings not just entertainment.
• Community connection: Valuing lived experience cultural knowledge and relationships as much as formal education.

Under the direction of the Senior Advisor Indigenous Relations and Programming this position is part of a new team creating space and reconciliation action in the day-to-day coordination of interpretive programming. This position will focus on developing Indigenous land-based programming and with collaboration options to engage like-minded staff to research and implement initiatives both new and established. Collaboration includes and is not limited to internal stakeholders but will include Knowledge Keepers from within singular nations. The Culture of Original Knowledge (COOK) Circle meets quarterly with the growth and development of this new division.

Responsibilities:

Strategic & Cultural Leadership

• Guide the day-to-day integration of Indigenous knowledge systems into interpretive programming ensuring land-based ceremonial and oral traditions are centered with integrity.
• Support the Senior Indigenous Advisor in advancing a parallel-lens approach that honours Indigenous and Western worldviews as distinct yet co-existing.
• Ensure Indigenous programming is Indigenous-led designed and delivered within an ethical space grounded in community validation and relational accountability.
• Advise internal teams on culturally respectful storytelling protocol and representation in exhibits signage programming and events.

Indigenous Programming & Story Stewardship

• Develop coordinate and deliver Indigenous land-based and oral storytelling programs that reflect living cultures Nations and contemporary realities.
• Hold space for teachings shared by Elders and Knowledge Keepers ensuring oral narratives are respected contextualized and carried forward responsibly.
• Observe and evolve programming through reflection and community dialogue recognizing that stories are living and must grow alongside relationship.
• Support signature Indigenous events and seasonal programming ensuring cultural integrity and authenticity remain at the centre of planning and execution.

Relationship & Community Engagement

• Build and nurture respectful relationships with Treaty 7 Nations Métis communities and urban Indigenous partners through reciprocity and ongoing dialogue.
• Collaborate with the COOK Circle and Elders to guide program growth ceremonial frameworks and emerging teachings.
• Participate in community gatherings and protocol where invited representing Heritage Park with humility and respect.
• Ensure community voices inform and validate programming decisions and storytelling approaches.

Team Guidance & Capacity Building

• Provide leadership mentorship coaching and cultural guidance to seasonal staff volunteers and cross-departmental collaborators.
• Support recruitment onboarding and development of Indigenous staff within the programming portfolio.
• Foster a culturally safe environment where Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff can learn ask questions and grow in understanding.
• Model relational leadership grounded in respect responsibility and collective accountability.

Stewardship & Organizational Alignment

• Ensure programming reflects truthing practices and aligns with Heritage Parks reconciliation commitments and Master Plan.
• Safeguard cultural protocols and proactively address outdated or insensitive content.
• Support responsible financial stewardship of Indigenous programming resources and funding opportunities.
• Contribute to continuous learning cycles that strengthen Indigenous presence across the Park.

Required Qualifications:

We recognize that knowledge is carried in many ways through lived experience ceremony family teachings community leadership and formal education. We welcome applicants who may have walked different paths but carry their knowledge with care. Required Foundations:

• Deep lived knowledge of Indigenous worldviews cultural protocols and oral storytelling traditions.
• Meaningful experience working in relationship with Indigenous communities Elders or Knowledge Keepers particularly within Treaty 7 Territory.
• Experience developing delivering or coordinating cultural land-based educational or interpretive programming.
• Demonstrated ability to guide conversations about history culture reconciliation and contemporary Indigenous realities with humility and strength.
• Experience mentoring guiding or supporting others in community educational or cultural settings.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to move between community engagement and administrative coordination with care and clarity.
• Comfort using basic digital tools (Outlook Word Excel) to support coordination and research.
  • Considered an Asset:
  • Post-secondary education in Indigenous Studies History Cultural Resource Management Education or related field or equivalent community-based knowledge and experience.
  • Experience working within museums cultural institutions education systems or nonprofit organizations.
  • Experience securing or supporting funding for cultural programming.
  • Existing relationships within Treaty 7 or Métis communities.
  • All successful candidates (over the age of 18) will be required to complete a Police Information Check as a condition of employment. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant; any information disclosed will be assessed confidentially on a case-by-case basis in accordance with Alberta human rights legislation considering relevance to the role and our commitment to equitable and inclusive hiring practices.

Special Clothing and Equipment:

• Business attire or traditional cultural attire is required when working in the office or at public events;
• Appropriate safety equipment will be provided by Heritage Park; and
• Footwear as designated by the Heritage Park Costume Department will be provided by the employee.

Hours of Work:

• The standard hours for this position are 35 hours per week.
• The schedule will generally be five consecutive days per week: Monday to Sunday (May to October) Monday to Friday with some weekends (November to April) Holiday and weekend work is required throughout the year especially during peak operating times; occasional evenings may be required.

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