Welcome to Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary
Welcome all to the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary. We welcome you to Treaty 7 Territory and the traditional land of Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Ĩyãħé Nakoda, Tsuu T’ina and the Metis Nation in Region 3. We at the AFCC strive to give the best possible experiences to those that come through our doors and do our best to make sure that all questions are answered with a smile.
OUR COMMUNITY
Our Programs
AFCC provides essential Indigenous cultural based programs to a growing Calgary urban Indigenous population.
The Friendship Centre Movement has a long history of bringing people together from all areas of Canada and beyond and Calgary is no different, we pride ourselves on bringing indigenous based cultural programs and services to all that wish to come and participate.
The importance of contributing to the continued education of our cultures to the public is a vital piece of what we do, working with our Community partners to continue to make Calgary shine and to always showcase the indigenous peoples of this great city. We at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary want everyone to have an amazing experience when you walk through our doors and encourage everyone to come to visit us.
We have many wonderful programs, services and community events; come down and check them out!
Jun 27, 2021
Statement from Board, staff and volunteers of the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary
Our grief continues with the news 751 unmarked graves were discovered on the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in southeastern Saskatchewan. Only weeks ago, the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC) issued a statement expressing our heartbreak for the families who are impacted by the tragic discovery of the bodies of 215 children in an unmarked grave at the Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia. AFCC extends our prayers to the families of children who attended the Marieval Residential School and asks Creator to embrace you and guide you through your sorrow.
For generations, we have talked about our children who died while attending residential schools across Canada and never came home. Sadly, we anticipate there will be more findings of our lost children as Indigenous people obtain the necessary resources to find these unmarked graves. We are one family, and we share in your grief.
AFCC’s Elder line is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm at 403-801-7482 for individuals in need of support. The Indian Residential Schools Crisis line is available 24/7 for anyone experiencing pain and distress at 1-866-925-4419.
For our non-Indigenous friends, the lives and deaths of these children is a sorrowful reminder of a dark part of Canada’s history. AFCC encourages you to learn more about the history of Indigenous people in Canada. We ask you to reach out to your Indigenous brothers and sisters and ask how I can be an ally in the fight for meaningful progress toward reconciliation. Know that discomfort is a natural response to uncomfortable truths.
As the Commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission wrote in their July 2015 summary of their final report, “Reconciliation is not an Aboriginal problem; it is a Canadian one.”
