UCalgary Dance Research Conference 2026

Moving Together in Moh’kins’tsis: Dance, Place, and Treaty 7
part of the 4th Annual Movement Research Festival
Location: Aapiiniioyis (White Buffalo Lodge) at EDT 314, Werklund Centre on the University of Calgary Campus
Timeline & Information

08:40AM - 09:00AM — Arrival & Smudge
09:00AM - 09:30AM — Opening led by Elder Randy Turning Robe Sr. and Randy Turning Robe Jr.
09:30AM - 10:30AM — Session 1: Friction & Floorboards: Institutional Realities in Treaty 7

Panelists: Craig First Rider & V.J. Sparvier Wells
Description: Panelists will discuss how they navigate institutional spaces and maintain connections to territory, place, and land as dancers, artists and educators.

10:30AM - 10:40AM — Health Break
10:40AM - 11:50AM — Session 2: Presentation & Experience: Hoop Dance and Land Connections

Presentation & Demonstration by Sage Romero and Caitlin Ashmore
Description: Through Hoop Dance and storytelling, Knowledge Keepers will highlight how cultural practices sustain relationships to land and communities.

12:00PM - 12:40PM — Break
12:40PM - 02:00PM — Session 3: Together in Treaty 7: Discussion Circle on Place, Responsibility, and Shared Futures

Circle Keepers: Anne Harding and Elder Art Cunningham
Description: This facilitated discussion circle will explore what it means to live, create, and work in Treaty 7. Centering connections to territory and place, the conversation will consider themes of stewardship, resource development, governance, relationship building, and shared responsibility.

02:00PM - 02:30PM —Closing led by the Turning Robe Family Singers