Arts & Culture

The Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association has been an active advocate for increased cultural understanding and acceptance. The urban Aboriginal community is diverse in regards to specific cultural affiliation and cultural connectivity. Alberta is a province of many Aboriginal cultures represented by people with various cultural skills and forms of knowledge. As people that distinguish themselves as Indigenous to Canada recognition of their individual histories and experiences needs to be taken into account when addressing issues of Aboriginal representation, social response, and community partnerships.

Resource Development

The ANFCA has taken the lead role in the research, creation and dissemination of a range of culturally-based tools and resources that reflect the diversity of Aboriginal communities throughout Alberta. From gathering the stories and perspectives of our Elders, to developing educational tools for preschool and public school delivery to video documentations and oral recordings, the ANFCA is committed to creating culturally respectful resources for use in Friendship Centres and other interested organizations.

Responding to Diversity

Through program development and delivery, the ANFCA is a bridge designed to address the needs of the Aboriginal community whether to provide representation of a cultural group, approach a social issue or promote effective working relationships with non-Aboriginal organizations and service providers. The ANFCA and many community-based Friendship Centres offer session based cultural awareness training that is designed to provide historical insights and seeks to create avenues for better working relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. For More information on the ANFCA’s Responding to Diversity program, please contact the ANFCA office directly.

Artists in Action

A relatively new initiative of the ANFCA, Artists in Action, is a virtual data base of Aboriginal Artisan residing in the Alberta Region. This exhaustive database will showcase the rich and culturally diverse range of artists in the Alberta region. From contemporary to traditional and from performing to visual and literary, the ANFCA’s Artists in Action database will be available online November 2007. Artists interested in making a submission for inclusion on the ANFCA’s Artists in Action Database should download and submit the Artist Application directly to the ANFCA offices.