The EHC has empowered Edmontonians to explore, preserve, and celebrate their shared heritage through community partnerships, grants, and innovative initiatives since 2009.

Our mission is to connect people to the stories of our city by helping Edmontonians research, preserve, interpret, and advocate for our heritage.

Our Vision

Edmonton embracing its diverse heritage, inclusive of all people, communities, and cultures on Treaty 6 Territory, consistent with the principles of Truth and Reconciliation.

Our Mandate

The Edmonton Heritage Council has a mandate to serve as a leader in advancing Connections & Exchanges, Edmonton’s 10-year arts and heritage plan.

Our Success

Indications of the Edmonton Heritage Council’s success in achieving our vision will include the committed and informed participation of Edmonton’s citizens in heritage, the support of heritage by educators, and the support of heritage by government and business.

We are on Indigenous land in Treaty 6 territory. Land occupied, travelled, and cared for by Indigenous peoples since time immemorial.

This place – ᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, amiskwacîwâskahikan, Edmonton – is a traditional meeting ground, gathering place, and travelling route of the nêhiyawak (Cree), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Dene, and Nakota Sioux.

The histories, languages, and cultures of these peoples enrich our shared heritage. We are all bound by the spirit and intent of Treaty. Too often these agreements between nations are excluded from the stories we tell about the past, this place, and ourselves. We must be truthful about what has happened in our communities and make meaningful decisions about who is included, who is represented, and how we reflect.

We are committed to upholding the City of Edmonton’s Indigenous Framework, responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

We are committed to Indigenous cultural independence, as stated in Connections & Exchanges: A 10-Year Plan to Transform Arts and Heritage in Edmonton.

We support the agency and autonomy of Indigenous peoples in revitalizing and participating in traditional, contemporary, and future manifestations of their heritage and culture.

Our Strategic Plan

Connections & Exchanges

The award-winning Connections & Exchanges: A 10-Year Plan to Transform Arts and Heritage in Edmonton promotes Edmonton as a cultural centre and encourages recreational, cultural, artistic, and entertainment opportunities for all residents.

Connections & Exchanges seeks to infuse culture, arts, and heritage into every aspect of civic fabric, support cultural makers and interpreters, and grow Edmonton’s heritage and arts audiences. Through the ambitions that we strive towards, the aims we use to chart progress, the actions that define our approach and the measurement framework that validates it all, this plan guides the development of Edmonton’s heritage and arts landscape through extraordinary transformation until 2029.

Guiding Principles

Our Values

Consistent with EHC’s other Guiding Framework Policies, we recognize the rights of individuals and groups to fair access to heritage-related resources and outcomes. Below is EHC’s Equity Policy. EHC’s work is ongoing towards the creation of equitable outcomes, including addressing systemic barriers, in our processes and within the heritage sector. We commit to:

Equity Policy

Consistent with EHC’s other Guiding Framework Policies, we recognize the rights of individuals and groups to fair access to heritage-related resources and outcomes. Below is EHC’s Equity Policy. EHC’s work is ongoing towards the creation of equitable outcomes, including addressing systemic barriers, in our processes and within the heritage sector.

We will examine our programs through the lens of this Equity Policy and continue to work with our partners to serve our sector better. 

  • The range of Edmonton’s unique, diverse and shared historical experiences, cultural memories, living traditions, and identities; this includes monuments, objects, documents, landscapes, and natural heritage.

  • Removing barriers to support equal access to opportunities and resources for people to interpret their stories. Enable all to participate fully in the cultural life of the city, working with the principles and practices of equity and anti-racism.

  • Seeking to work with marginalized and underrepresented communities to help them tell their stories in their voices.

  • Truth-telling about the heritage of this place, founded on the presence and contributions of Indigenous peoples. Working to establish and maintain mutually respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, advancing actions for positive change through acknowledgement of the historical causes and harms of the past that live in the present.

  • Working in a collaborative and participatory way to develop meaningful solutions to complex issues. Everyone affected by an issue has a say in related decision.

  • EHC will be responsive to the changing needs of the Edmonton area and the many people and socio-cultural communities that add to the vibrancy and resiliency of our region. We acknowledge that systemic barriers to equity exist.

  • Equity is an on-going process with no completion date. EHC strives to ensure we are supporting and creating inclusive and equitable communities. We recognize that treating all groups equally will not result in equity.

  • We will continue and increase our work with diverse people and communities towards shared goals, engaging diverse voices to ensure all communities within the Edmonton area see themselves reflected in the work of the Edmonton Heritage Council.

  • EHC commits to communicating about our successes and challenges in our equity work.