TLSN Spring Feast on May 23
April 20, 2026

TLSN Spring Feast
Saturday, May 23, 11am–4pm
Davidson Farm, Alliance, AB, Treaty 6

We welcome you to join us for a traditional feast hosted by TLSN on May 23rd at the Davidson Farm. All are welcome.

Please see below for directions as well as important information about ceremonial protocols if you have not attended a feast before.

For those who are interested, local historian Elder Bruce Cutknife and third-generation farmer Ralph Davidson will lead a tour of the farm following the feast.

Camping is available in the farmyard if you would like to arrive on Friday night or stay overnight on Saturday. Please contact Beth Davidson at beth@treatylandsharingnetwork.ca for details. 

If you are able to arrive early to help with the preparation of the feast, we would be grateful to have a few volunteers! 

Please plan to bring the following:

  • A contribution to the feast (optional). Please no pork – all other contributions are welcome!
  • A blanket to sit on for the ceremony, or chair if you require one.
  • A bowl, plate, mug, and cutlery, and a container to bring home anything you don’t finish

This gathering will be going forward rain or shine!

Please note that there will be photography and audio and video recording at the gathering. This recording is for educational (non-commercial) purposes. The ceremony will not be recorded.


Directions

Here is a pin of the Davidson Farm. If you need help with directions, call or text Beth Holt at 780-390-0266. 

If you’re travelling from Alliance:

  • Head east on the 602 for 2 miles (3.2km)
  • Turn right (south) on Range Road 130.
  • Follow Range Road 130 to the end (2 miles), then turn left (east) on Township Road 400.
  • Follow for 1 mile to a T-instersection and turn left on RR 125.
  • Take the first right back on Township Road 400.
  • The farmyard is the first driveway on your right (there will be signs directing you). 

If you would like to travel in a group or carpool, we are happy to help coordinate. Please contact info@treatylandsharingnetwork.ca.

Ceremonial Protocols

Our pipe ceremony will be conducted by Elder Bert Bull, a pipe carrier from Louis Bull Tribe, and Elder Alsena White, a pipe carrier from Saddle Lake First Nation. Knowledge Keeper Shirley Wolfe-Keller from Fishing Lake First Nation will be preparing the feast.

Please bring a blanket to sit on during the ceremony. Pregnant individuals, Elderly people, and those with health or mobility concerns are welcome to sit in a chair.

We ask that you refrain from drugs or alcohol for 48 hours prior to and after you have left the ceremony. This comes from a place of respect for the pipe and the medicines. Caffeine and tobacco products are acceptable.

Men will sit in a circle around Elder Bert Bull; women and children will sit in a circle around Elder Alsena White. Women and girls are asked to wear an ankle length skirt. If you do not have a traditional ribbon skirt, any skirt will do that is the required length. If you do not have a skirt you can use a blanket to wrap around your waist. This is not to shame women and girls, but to be respectful of the teachings associated with women and the tipi.

Women are powerful individuals held in high regard for their ability to give life. They have the power to bring individuals from the spirit world into the physical world. Due to this power, women have a cycle like the moon, and this menstruation cycle is referred to as a moon time ceremony. If the feast is during your moon time, you are asked to place buffalo sage in your sock or shoe under the bottom of your foot, to smudge only with sage (not sweetgrass), and to refrain from participating in the pipe ceremony part of the feast. If you require buffalo sage, please ask a member of the Treaty Land Sharing Network and they will assist you. This is not to shame women, but to honor the power they hold during their moon time ceremony. We also ask that women on their moon time refrain from assisting with the preparation of the feast. 

Please also note that all food has to be prayed upon before it is eaten.

We ask that children stay seated during ceremony and not run around. We ask that everyone refrain from conversation at this time, and pay attention respectfully during the pipe ceremony and blessing of the food. Please ensure your phone is off. No part of the ceremony is to be recorded or photographed. Please be respectful of the pipes and the pipe carriers by adhering to the protocols, and please take care not to drop food or spill water or tea in the feast area.

We are so honored to have you attending. It is a wonderful time to be Treaty people and to share in ceremony together.

If you have any questions, please contact info@treatylandsharingnetwork.ca for more information. If you're curious to know what to expect, you can read about our spring feast least year at Box H Farm here.

We are grateful for the support of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the United Church of Canada, the Alberta Ecotrust, the Alberta Ethnocultural Program, and the Edmonton Community Foundation toward this gathering.