The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is located in the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina, and the Iyarhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney. We are situated on land where the Bow River meets the Elbow River, and the traditional Blackfoot name of this place is “Moh’kinstsis” which we now call the City of Calgary. The City of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation. 

Reporting to the Manager of Chinook Lodge, Student Services is looking to hire a 1-year term position for an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper. This role will be housed in Chinook Lodge but will work across the institution and support the campus community on the journey toward truth and reconciliation. Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Cultural Advisors play a central role in Indigenous communities; they are teachers within and beyond their communities.

Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Cultural Advisors are not self-taught individuals. They have been gifted with their respective teachings by other Elders or Knowledge Keepers, typically over years of mentorship and teaching.

These teachings are held as sacred knowledge and vary from each respective knowledge source. Ideally, permission has been given for individuals to share what their learned and acquired knowledge permits. Once the Keepers are felt to have learned and understood the knowledge and have made it a part of their own lives, it is accepted that they can now deliver these learnings and teachings to others.

The term "Knowledge Keeper" or "Traditional Knowledge Keeper" refers to someone who has been taught by an Elder or a senior Knowledge Keeper within their community. This person holds traditional knowledge and teachings, they have been taught how to care for these teachings and when it is and is not appropriate to share this knowledge with others.

A "Cultural Advisor" is another form of a teacher. They hold cultural knowledge that has been shared with them by more experienced teachers (Elders or Knowledge Keepers).

Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and Cultural Advisors at SAIT play a central role in increasing awareness around Indigenous knowledge, histories, languages, and ways of knowing in our campus community. They can provide informal and formal teachings to raise awareness of Indigenous histories, world views and to help both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, staff and faculty increase their own cultural competencies and awareness. They can also complement course content by providing cultural context and Indigenous knowledge.

Job Classification: INFORMATION OFFICER II - A5068

Hours Per Week: 37.5

Salary Range: $50,000 - $59,471

Position End Date: June 30, 2025

Posting End Date: Until the position has been filled