Calgary News Briefs - September

Over 20 First Nations and non-Aboriginal performers, dancers, musicians and poets are featured in the World Premiere of Making Treaty 7.

Making Treaty 7 world premiere

Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society launched its theatrical presentation at Calgary’s Heritage Park Historical Village on Sept. 11, 13 and 14. “We Are All Treaty People” marks 137 years after the signing of Treaty 7 at Blackfoot Crossing between the Plains Indians and the Queen, covering southern Alberta, and explores the ramifications of the signing of the Treaty from both a historical and contemporary perspective. “All cultures are expressed through their connection to ‘place.’ Making Treaty 7 is the story of the land we live on, that we cultivate, harvest and build our cities on. It is also the story of who each of us are, where we came from, and why we are here today. Looking forward, it is the story of how we hope to live here together in the future,” said executive and creative producer Michael Green. Among the performers are Gemini award winning actress Michelle Thrush and Calgary’s former poet laureate and musician Kris Demeanor. Presented as part of Heritage Park’s 50th anniversary celebrations, the idea began in Calgary 2012, with multiple partners: Heritage Park Historical Village, the Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society, One Yellow Rabbit, The Banff Centre and Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts. Following two years of consultation with Treaty 7 First Nations Chiefs Association and Treaty 7 community Elders, the production continues its evolution approaching Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017. 

ASIRT investigates police handling of disappearance of Crowshoe

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has been brought in by the Calgary Police Service to investigate interactions CPS members had with 18-year-old Colton Crowshoe, prior to his disappearance, and allegations by Crowshoe’s family of breach of trust in response to the missing person’s investigation. On July 24, Crowshoe’s body was found in a pond in Abbeydale in northeast Calgary. ASIRT’s mandate is “to effectively, independently and objectively investigate, as directed by the Director of Law Enforcement, matters of a serious or sensitive nature related to the actions of a police officer in Alberta.” On July 2, CPS took Crowshoe into custody.  He was released that day in the early morning. On July 6, Crowshoe’s family reported him missing. He was believed to have been last seen on the evening of July 3. 

CPRA enhances support of Missing Children Society

The Calgary Police Service and the Calgary Police Rodeo Association continue expanding support of the Missing Children Society Search Program. For the past 10 years, the rodeo has donated over $75,000 to MCSC. Some of these funds were used to develop the search program, which uses technology to activate individuals, employees and law enforcement as soon as a child goes missing. Powerful communication tools such as CodeSearch garner an immediate response and active search using geo-targeted alerts and newsfeeds as they happen. The World’s Most Valuable Project uses social media to spread instant awareness and public alert of a missing child. Individuals ‘donate’ their social feeds to MCSC, which in turn uses social media to spread the word. The viral effect of social media can reach hundreds of thousands of Canadians in mere moments. In effect, Valuable Project is the first online search party in the world. Several Calgary corporations, including WestJet, are on board, involving their employees to respond instantaneously to missing children. The CPS will ask its 2,100 members with work-issued smart phones to register with CodeSearch. The rodeo hoped to raise an additional $10,000 at their Aug. 10 annual fundraising event.

RCMP cruiser stolen at Checkstop

On Aug. 16, a Cochrane RCMP cruiser was stolen at an impaired-driving Checkstop. Police were running a Checkstop along Horseshoe Drive, north of the Stoney Casino, when they took Lorenzo Anthony Bearspaw into custody. Officers were dealing with individuals and damaged vehicles at the scene when they noticed the police cruiser departing. A warrant was issued for Bearspaw, 25, on three charges: theft of a motor vehicle, impaired operation of a motor vehicle and escaping lawful custody.  On Aug. 19, Bearspaw, a member of the Stoney First Nation, was arrested in Calgary. Air and ground searches were conducted on the Stoney First Nation to recover the stolen police cruiser.

Casting call for DiCaprio film

Producers of the Leonardo DiCaprio western The Revenant were looking for a First Nations teen for a speaking role in the big-budget film, which begins shooting in the Calgary area on Sept. 29. The shoot is expected to last at least five months. A casting call held earlier was successful, said Allyson Lockwood, of Calgary’s Classic Casting. Casting calls are getting more specific as the shoot date approaches. In a subsequent call on Aug. 22, producers were seeking a First Nations boy, aged 13-18, for a speaking role. Acting experience was not a necessity. Set in the 1820s and directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the film is about the vengeance frontiersman Hugh Glass seeks against those who left him for dead after he was mauled by a bear.

Compiled by Darlene Chrapko