Eagle and Raven Consulting Indigenous Engagement & Reconciliation
We are an Indigenous owned professional consultancy that builds trust-based relationships based on mutual respect.
Braiding Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science
Indigenous Knowledge
Environmental Assessments
Environmental Assessments
Recording and regulatory reporting of Indigenous Interests, co-authorship, ground truthing and Knowledge Holder interviews
Environmental Assessments
Environmental Assessments
Environmental Assessments
Braiding Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science in the Environmental Assessment Process
Reconciliation Strategy
Environmental Assessments
Reconciliation Strategy
Preserving and promoting the goals of reconciliation between industry, government and Indigenous Nations by working respectfully together now and in the future.
EcoSolutions for a Greener Tomorrow
Oldman River Valley Restoration Project
Eagle and Raven Consulting and Alberta Innovates
are happy to announce we have created a partnership to promote restoration of the Oldman River valley on Piikani First Nation reserve lands.
Our project will braid western science and Indigenous Knowledge by gathering information from Piikani First Nation Elders and Knowledge Holders to create a culturally informed environmental research design that will guide multiple years of on-the-ground restoration along the Oldman River Valley.
Our goal is to create a culturally informed, sustainable, and resilient approach to restoration of trees, shrubs and critical wildlife habitat along the Oldman River. Over 80% of plant and animal diversity in southern Alberta is found along riparian areas next to streams, rivers and wetlands. Our research will serve as a ‘pilot project’ for the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge to inform river valley restoration efforts across the province.
Our partnership with Alberta Innovates will help to build capacity with Piikani First Nation Elders and community members to help inform our research design, on-the-ground-restoration activities and ongoing environmental monitoring along the Oldman River. Key species include narrowleaf cottonwood, balsam poplar, as well as stabilization species such as sandbar and diamond willow. Culturally significant species include chokecherry and Saskatoon, as well as many other plants that support subsistence, spiritual and ceremonial practices of the Piikani First Nation people.
As explained by Piikani First Nation Elder Morris Little Wolf:
“Mother Earth provides for all of the animals that she raises. If you go to Brocket, and look around that valley, your real spirit will tell you how beautiful it is. Your spirit will tell you that you are a part of it. The trees – they are your relatives, that do everything for you. They keep you warm and feed you. Look at other plants like willows, that provide medicine, so that your children will be safe from sickness and death. When you look at the rocks in that valley, you see the hardness in their spirit. When you look at the water, when the water is moving, it is like your bloodstream. So we need to restore our river valleys to a natural flow.“
Our Partners
Forgotten Dreams Book Now Available!
New book celebrates Indigenous Rock Art Sites
Ever wonder about the meaning and significance of Indigenous rock paintings? My new book explores the rich cultural history of pictographs with Indigenous Knowledge from Piikani First Nation and Shuswap Band Elders in Alberta and British Columbia. You can find it online at:
forgottendreamspictographs.com
Green Solutions for a Sustainable Future
New book explores ancient rock art
Staff Writer, MACLEOD GAZETTE | Posted on March 13 2025
A new book celebrates Indigenous cultural awareness and diversity.
Forgotten Dreams: A New Look at Ancient Rock Art Sites combines Indigenous knowledge and western science to explore the meaning of rock paintings, or pictographs, in western Canada.
Author Brad Himour, an archaeologist, Indigenous liaison and writer who lives in Calgary, said there are as many different cultural traditions about pictograph sites as there are Indigenous languages in Canada — more than 200 in all. Over the past 15 years, Himour collaborated with over twenty elders from the Piikani Nation and Secwe̓ pemc (Shuswap Band).
Together, they were able to photograph and interpret more than 20 pictograph sites in southern Alberta and British Columbia. Himour said the braiding of Indigenous knowledge and western science is what made the project successful.
“Many of these amazing cultural sites are in very remote locations,” Himour said. “Often, they are nearly invisible to the naked eye. By visiting each site and digitally enhancing the photographs, it was possible to give the elders much clearer images to interpret.”
Forgotten Dreams recounts tales of epic journeys, great battles and spiritual activities that both educate and fascinate. In the words of Secwepemc (Shuswap Band) elders Xavier and Marge Eugene, “Indigenous storytelling, or stseptékwle, includes myths and legends of fairy tales, hunting tales, warrior tales, information on our gathering places and often our ’spirit stories’ gained from a vision quest or ceremony. There is always a story behind a pictograph.”
For Piikani Nation elders Morris Little Wolf and Harley Bastien, pictograph sites are a record of cultural events that extend back for thousands of years.
“To me, what these paintings represent, they represent me,” Bastien said. “Who I am. They represent my people. They represent my ancestors. For all people, especially the people of my own nation, it is worth it to come and visit a pictograph site. Bring an offering. The spirits are still here. They will always be here.”
Himour said it was important to recognize that there are many other Indigenous cultures, including Stoney Nakoda, Tsuut’ina, Ktunaxa and Metis communities, that have their own cultural stories and traditions related to many of the same pictograph sites. “It’s fair to say that our effort represents a very small sample of the many unique Indigenous cultures in the region,” Himour said. “My hope is that this book will help inspire Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to learn more about the incredible cultural diversity of Indigenous rock art across Canada.”
Promoting education, cultural preservation and Indigenous reconciliation were the primary reasons Secwe pemc elders Xavier and Marge Eugene participated in the project. “This is how our people wrote their history on the landscape. We thought much of it had been lost. Now, we want to pass on that beautiful legacy to future generations.”
Himour emphasized the cornerstone of his successful collaboration with the elders was mutual respect. He was instructed to leave the sites as he found them, place a small offering of tobacco as a “thank you’” for the opportunity to photograph them, and to understand there are many different cultural protocols related to pictographs, even within the same community.
In the words of Piikani Nation elder Morris Little Wolf, “The right to use the information gathered from the elders needs to come from the individual. If an individual contributes information, he or she will be the one who gives you the rights to use their words and stories.”
You can learn more about these amazing cultural masterpieces, including how the paint was applied to the rock face and what organic ingredients were used to create rock paintings that lasted for thousands of years at:
forgottendreamspictographs.com.