Black Heritage Caucus
Heritage as Discovery and Healing
When Daliso (Dali) Mwanza, Research and Policy Lead with the Edmonton Heritage Council, talks about the Black Heritage Caucus, he does not start with a mandate or a mission statement. He starts with a room in Halifax, and a young man in a restoration program who stood up at the end of a packed talking circle to say it was one of the best things he had ever attended. For the first time, he told the group, he felt heard in his own industry.
For Dali, that moment captures what the Caucus is for.
"The main value within this work is promoting the feeling of being accepted, the feeling that you're not being erased, the feeling that community stories have a value and they exist."
A conversation that needed a home
The Caucus began with a concern raised in 2023. Graham Nickerson, speaking with Edmonton Heritage Council Executive Director David Ridley in Ottawa, noted how little space there was for Black heritage practitioners at the National Trust for Canada. David wanted action, and the work landed on Dali's desk.
Dali and Graham planned a 2024 gathering in Montréal that brought together 19 practitioners from Canada and the United States. Because the invitation was open, a few participants derailed the conversation, a reminder of why Black practitioners had been absent from the conference for fifty years. The group closed its circle and built a safer structure. It is now a partner initiative of the Black Legacy Collective.
A deliberate pace
From the start, Dali and Graham agreed the Caucus was about bettering the community, not advancing their careers, and that meant refusing to rush.
"We believe urgency is a colonial mentality."
In 2025, the Caucus met in Halifax and Birchtown, where local leaders shaped the program, and presented From Past to Power: Black Heritage Now! at the National Trust's Heritage Now! conference. A joint Knowledge Exchange with the Indigenous Heritage Circle explored shared work against erasure. In 2026, in Kitchener and Waterloo, the group had few local ties but a stronger administrative base, with new expertise in fundraising, organizational structure and land trusts. Dali calls the direction "actioned advocacy": not only talking about Black heritage, but preserving it.
A wider circle
Built heritage conferences tend to draw architects and engineers. The Caucus has them, and also public historians, educators, archivists, GIS specialists, fundraisers and realtors. Dali, an anthropologist by training, wants a holistic, 360-degree view of the sector's problems. Younger people are beginning to join.
From funding worries to hope to action
Practitioners talk about funding first. Once that is said aloud, Dali says, the conversation turns to hope, the belief that something can be saved, and then to action. The priorities that keep surfacing are sustainable funding, a national Black history museum, a connected network of practitioners, more Black youth in heritage, and decolonial preservation that upholds community ownership of knowledge.
Alberta in the national story
Alberta voices are firmly part of the Caucus, including people connected to the Black Prairie Archive, Cheryl Foggo's John Ware stories, Donna Coombs-Montrose's work on Amber Valley and Wildwood, and Deborah Beaver and Debbie Dobbins. When Dali first mentioned Amber Valley at a national gathering, people were stunned. Now it is taken for granted.
"We don't have to fight for our voice to be heard in the group. It's already heard."
Partners at the Black Legacy Collective, including public historian Keisha Cuffy, now look to Edmonton for connections to community members whose archives are not yet documented.
Why it matters here
With the support of EHC leadership, much of the Caucus's resourcing has helped Edmontonians attend national gatherings and discover how their families' stories connect across the country. Dali notes it is the first structure of its kind at this level within the National Trust, shaped in large part by Edmontonians. The work is volunteer, balanced with day jobs and a tightening funding landscape, but the 2026 gathering built a larger volunteer base.
"Our work is creating belonging."
Get involved
Reach out. Black heritage practitioners in Edmonton can email Dali to express interest or join the planning committee.
Apply for support. EHC Career Development Grants have helped Edmontonians attend past conferences. The next one is expected to be closer to home.
Stay informed. Subscribe to the Black Legacy Collective's mailout and follow the National Trust for Canada on LinkedIn.
Join the next AGM. The Caucus meets again at the National Trust conference in Vancouver.
Learn more at blacklegacycollective.org/black-heritage-caucus.