Medicine Hat, Alberta - 2026

Brenda Mercer, Indigenous knowledge keeper, advocate, and founder of Whitehorse Rider, is proud to announce the launch of a significant cultural initiative that will see the creation of seven new teepees in Southeast Alberta. This project builds on the momentum and community response to the first teepee she completed in 2025, which has become a symbol of healing, education, and reconnection to her Dakota-Sioux culture and in honour of the Blackfoot Confederacy.

The Teepee Project will be developed throughout 2026, with each teepee carrying its own teaching and purpose. The installations will serve as living spaces for cultural education, youth programming, community gatherings, ceremony, and land-based learning. The project represents both an expansion of Whitehorse Rider’s mission and a deepening of Mercer’s long-standing work to preserve and share Indigenous traditions.

“After seeing how people responded to the first teepee, I knew the work needed to grow,” said Brenda Mercer. “These seven teepees will honour the Seven Sacred Teachings and provide safe, welcoming spaces where people can learn, reconnect, and feel proud of who they are. This is about healing our communities, strengthening relationships, and building something that lasts for generations and can be passed along to future generations in both indigenous and non-indigenous people.”

The decision to create seven teepees carries deep cultural meaning that reflects broader Indigenous teachings. The number seven is recognized across several Plains Nations as a symbol of spiritual harmony and completeness, including teachings that link seven to foundational sacred rites. While each Nation maintains its own teachings, seven has become a shared symbol of balance, wellness, and community healing throughout many Indigenous communities. This makes the Seven Teepee Project both culturally rooted and spiritually meaningful, honoring the interconnected traditions of the Prairies and creating space for renewed learning, ceremony, and connection.

Whitehorse Rider will collaborate with Elders, local Nations, youth groups, cultural educators, and regional partners to ensure that each teepee reflects traditional protocols while also supporting contemporary needs. Community members will be invited to participate in teachings, building days, and special events throughout the project timeline.

The first teepee, created in 2025, quickly became a gathering place that sparked conversations about culture, reconciliACTION, identity, and belonging. The expansion to seven teepees reflects the high demand for Indigenous-led programming in the region and growing calls for culturally grounded spaces that honour traditional knowledge.

“Creating a teepee is more than a physical act of raising poles and stretching canvas. It is a process built on words and values that mirror the work of building strong, connected communities. A teepee begins with trust, as the poles must lean into one another for strength. It requires respect, patience, and care, since each piece has a purpose and must be placed in the right order. It is created through collaboration, where every hand plays a role, and strengthened by responsibility, as each person contributes to the whole. When a teepee stands, it stands because of unity and shared intention, just as healthy communities do,” Brenda Mercer further described. “This is what I wanted for our community, a reminder that when we build something together, we create not just a structure, but a place for connection, belonging, and collective healing. We want people to see these teepees as living, breathing places filled with stories. This project is about unity. It is about understanding. And it is about remembering who we are,” concluded Mercer.

The Seven Teepee Project will begin construction in spring 2026, with locations and programming details to be announced in the coming months. Individuals and organizations interested in supporting the initiative or collaborating are encouraged to contact Whitehorse Rider.

Media Contact:

Brenda Mercer
Whitehorse Rider

Email: onewhobeads@gmail.com

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