Taza Development aims to build economic independence through Tsuut’ina culture

By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

(ANNews) – A new mixed-use development on Tsuut’ina Nation’s reserve aims to combine economic growth with First Nations traditions, according to the Tsuut’ina band member who’s in charge of business development for the project. 

Taza Park is the centrepiece of the 1,200-acre Taza Development on the Treaty 7 First Nation’s land that are the product of a 50-50 partnership between Tsuut’ina Nation and real estate firm Canderel. 

The $4.5-billion development includes the already established Buffalo Park commercial hub and Taza Crossing, a residential village, has begun as the development’s final phase. 

Taza VP of business development Bryce Starlight, a Tsuut’ina band member who lives on reserve, told Alberta Native News that the development represents the fulfillment of a 50-year-old vision of having “long-term income revenue streams coming into the nation.” 

The goal is to reduce Tsuut’ina’s dependency on federal funding, enabling its members “to determine our own destiny,” said Starlight. 

He emphasized the importance of “protecting and enhancing our cultural identity, ensuring that we are good stewards of the land, and doing it in a way that’s grounded in self-determination.”

To that end, Starlight said it was important that the First Nation be involved as a “foundational” partner in the development throughout its process, rather than occupying a “symbolic or consultative role at the end.”

“Taza Park really represents this deliberate shift in how large-scale projects are approached and delivered, especially on reserve,” he added.

This isn’t just a “real estate project,” but a “partnership-driven economic development plan that combines indigenous leadership with private sector experience,” Starlight emphasized.

“These places have a lasting meaning beyond just the commercial assets that you build or the buildings that you develop on site,” he explained.

This extends to the way decisions are made regarding the development, which Starlight emphasized are “consensus-based.”

A major challenge with a project of this nature is to balance growth with maintaining its foundational purpose.

“We’re looking at ways to reflect the culture and the cultural elements throughout the development,” he said. “How do we do that as time and expression of culture evolves and changes while still being authentic to the original intent of what that culture is meant to embody?”

It’s crucial that the vision of community members, developers and designers remain in sync throughout the development’s lifespan, lest they risk “losing that authenticity,” Starlight added.

A March 2026 press release notes that Tsuut’ina culture is “expressed through street names, signage, public art, landscape design, and architecture,” with these elements serving “not as decorative gestures, but as expressions of place that connect the built environment back to the land itself.”

“When we reference animals, plants, or natural elements that are central to Tsuut’ina teachings, it’s intentional,” Taza VP of land development Travis Oberg said in the release. 

“Whether it’s ensuring chokecherry trees are a focal point along Chokecherry Street, sweetgrass integrated into park spaces, or public art reflecting stories tied to land, water, wind, and fire, those elements are selected with purpose.” 

There’s a necessary balance between creating a “cohesiveness of culture and of identity” and establishing a “level of inclusion and incorporation into the greater Canadian society,” said Starlight, “not because we’re looking to assimilate, but because we’re actually integrating, and doing it on our own terms.”

Anyone can set up shop or move to Taza, but the emphasis is on attracting Indigenous people and businesses to the Tsuut’ina reserve. 

“We want to see our development have a genuine Indigenous feel to it,” said Starlight, “so we encourage indigenous businesses to look at investing and locating here, and we also want people to move into our community as well.”