Indigenous Relations

Built on trust, respect and reconciliation

Gibson is committed to establishing, maintaining and strengthening mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous Peoples in Canada and their respective leadership and communities built on trust, respect and reconciliation.

Building a solid foundation of cultural and historical awareness within our company and among our employees will enable us to continue prioritizing Indigenous relations at Gibson.

In 2022, Gibson donated $10,000 to Project Forest, a non-profit organization based in Edmonton, to support them in creating a Food and Medicine Forest with and for the members of Cumberland House Cree Nation. Project Forest, in consultation with the Nation and Climate Smart Services, is working to reintroduce traditional foods and medicines that are no longer present in the Cumberland House First Nation community.

Gibson acknowledges important awareness days including Orange Shirt Day, Red Dress Day, Moose Hide Campaign and National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. We contribute to Reconciliation by supporting Indigenous-focused organizations and programs such as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation; the Treaty 7 Elder Capacity Camp and Cultural Celebration hosted by Alberta Recreation & Parks Association; the Iiyika’kimaat Program, a program for Indigenous youth run by Calgary’s Trellis Society. Gibson was proud to be the land and youth sponsor of Trellis Youth Powwow - Honouring Our Children, which was hosted in Strathmore, Alberta, sitting in the heart of Siksika First Nations traditional territory.

Indigenous Engagement

We are committed to building positive, long-term relationships with local communities.

Gibson recognizes Indigenous Peoples as rightsholders who have a distinct relationship to the land, with legal rights as self-governing entities of the people who were the original inhabitants of our continent. We are taking several steps to meaningfully engage with Indigenous communities across our operations.

We identify and create opportunities that support indigenous relations through company wide-education and training, a tiered community engagement program, community legacy and investing in communities and initiatives that align with both community interests and Gibson’s focus areas and contribute to economic Reconciliation.

Gibson recently completed a community engagement mapping initiative where we mapped Indigenous communities within the proximity of our operations to help us prioritize our initial engagements with the identified communities surrounding our operations. We began important conversations with communities focused on relationship building, education and employment initiatives, economic reconciliation through inclusion in business development and procurement practices, as well as potential future project participation opportunities.

By working together and ensuring open communication with Indigenous groups, we strive to earn their respect and trust to establish and grow positive long-term relationships.

To equip the Gibson team with foundational awareness that will enable us to continue a path forward for Indigenous relations, reconciliation actions and fostering inclusion, we teamed up with the First Nations University of Canada to launch a company-wide Indigenous Awareness Training. As of 2023, 100% of employees have completed the training.