Elders Story Project

For 2025, the Elders of the Elders Knowledge Circle Society (EKCS) have decided to change the format of the Elders Story Project (ESP) and broaden their knowledge sharing by inviting the audience to participate in a sacred ceremony.

The first half of the event will involve a tea dance, pipe ceremony, and the honouring of a special guest in a Blackfoot naming ceremony.

After a brief intermission, the second half of the program will be an honouring of the Elders of the EKCS for their resilience and their contribution to their communities and the Elders Story Project. The event will end with a round dance that the entire audience can partake in.

Even if you’ve previously attended the Elders Story Project, this year will be a new and memorable experience you will not want to miss.

The event is FREE but tickets are required to secure a seat.

About the Elders’ Knowledge Circle Society and the Elders Story Project

The Elders Knowledge Circle Society (EKCS) was officially established in June 2022 as the brainchild of Indigenous Elders in Calgary and Area to establish a centralized place of knowledge and wisdom as a resource to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups. The group has been operating since 2021.

The overarching goals of the EKCS are to:

• Create a sustainable model to protect, revitalize and share stories, language, oral knowledge and practice;
• Bridge the gap in cultural understanding and reconciliation to allow the transfer of knowledge to the next generations;
• Serve as a centralized resource for Western organizations (public, private, and non-profit) to consult with Elders and Indigenous communities using appropriate protocols.

The impetus for the Elders Story Project (ESP) came with the discovery of 215+ possible unmarked graves at the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Many more discoveries followed. To support their healing, the healing of other survivors and family members, and to facilitate the education of Indigenous Youth and Settlers, the Elders’ Story Project (ESP) is an initiative led by the EKCS to empower Indigenous Residential School Survivors to:

• share Indigenous oral knowledge with Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples;
• advance inter-generational healing and reconciliation, public awareness, and education;
• share stories of truth and survival from Residential and Day Schools.