In Spring 2023, pipikwan pêhtâkwan was selected by the Edmonton Heritage Council to facilitate the addition of 25 stories to the Commonwealth Walkway. The Commonwealth Walkway is a digital storytelling project that extends throughout the River Valley in Edmonton, filled with local stories and history.  The project sought to address gaps in Indigenous context, history, and storytelling within the existing project by editing existing content and adding new content to the digital map.

The project team worked in collaboration with the Edmonton Heritage Council staff to build relationships with Indigenous storytellers and build deeper connections with each other and our communities throughout and beyond the life of this project. 

Our team used a relationship-based, story-driven engagement process that centred Indigenous voices through storytelling. While the original project scope anticipated recording up to 25 individual participants, early interviews revealed that participants preferred to share multiple stories in one sitting. In response, the approach shifted to accommodate more open and flexible recording sessions, resulting in 14 confirmed participants contributing nearly 50 distinct stories. This flexibility allowed our team to prioritize the depth and quality of content while honouring the time and contributions of each participant sharing their experience, as they were able to determine the format, pace, and number of stories shared.