Ranch Ehrlo is celebrating the completion of the "mâmawi-pimohtêtân" pathway on the Pilot Butte campus.

The path project was initiated in 2022 as part of the agency’s commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) Calls to Action.

“It’s an important time in our country to stop and reflect on the truth, to learn, and to also reflect on our own personal journey in regard to what truth and reconciliation means to us and what our own commitments are,” said Janet Miller, director of clinical services and committee member. “The path has become a place for us to do this.”

The one-kilometre loop trail features eight interactive learning stations, benches, a tipi, fire pit seating area, rock paintings, and a large rock medicine wheel.

The committee hopes staff and participants from all areas of the agency will explore the pathway and engage in ways that are meaningful to them.

“This pathway was thoughtfully designed to provide an organic space for connection to transpire,” explained Jamie Lerat, Indigenous Advisor and committee member. “We hope it becomes a place where staff and youth can have meaningful conversations and achieve deeper understandings, not just about reconciliation, but of themselves and the world around them.”

mâmawi-pimohtêtân, which translates to “walking all together”, was partially funded by a $10,000 Canadian Heritage grant and made possible by the engagement of stakeholders and nearby Indigenous communities. The committee collaborated with a local elder and elder helper (oskâpêwis) in the naming, pre-project smudging, and development of the pathway, while the committee solicited input and additional contributions from participants and their families, board members, and staff from across the agency.

“It was through the dialogue and ideas of everyone that we were able to take a relatively simple idea of a walking path and grow it into this beautiful project that we’re able to engage so many different people,” said Amanda McConnell, manager of intake services and committee member. “We had a vision, but without the support from everyone along the way it certainly wouldn’t have turned out to be the beautiful walking path it is today." 

Members of the public can walk the path virtually, exploring some of the learning stations and highlights along the way.