Breaking Bread and Breaking Cycles: JHC’s Afternoon at Teepee Treats

By Yaw Baayim

There is nothing better than having a bannock with soup on a Tuesday afternoon at a round table with likeminded friends and we made that happen. On April 14, 2026, JHC team, together with artist Carla Rae Taylor, paid a courtesy visit to the CEO, Curtis Cardinal and had treats at Teepee Treats in the freshly opened Kakio Studio.  JHC was excited to be part of making this special place a reality. This meeting however was part of Breaking the Cycle’s community feast, to take place at Boyle Plaza on May 16, 2026. Curtis has been working with JHC for years and partnering with him was a perfect decision to make. 

While digging into some bannock and soup, we went straight to our reason for the warm visit. Thanks to the Alberta Law Foundation, JHC is embarking on a research project which focuses on unhoused Albertans who face a cycle of social erasure through fines and the loss of essential gears during clearings. This project is titled Breaking the Cycle and will be happening in different cities within Alberta. The focus is to talk to Albertans with lived experience with bylaw fines, encampment clearings, and systemic debt. 

There have been several concerns around this topic and that is why it is important that JHC collaborates with Teepee Treats and go to the community and ask the real questions affecting fellow Albertans. Curtis has been active in the community and has made a lot of donations to the unhoused folks, which won him a human rights award for all the remarkable things that he has been doing. JHC was able to provide sponsorship in this project to support Giving Back to the Streets, a give back event. The conversation went well with suggestions on how the day will go. Curtis gave his suggestions on how things should be and we discussed as a team. 

Sharing is caring; that is why it is important to share a meal with folks while asking the real questions. The day will be all about gathering information and recording as well. Collaborating with mutual aid workers who are working hard to make a difference in the lives of people in the community, while helping to document the situations through storytelling and trauma-informed conversations is important to have. So, please join us on May 16, 2026 at the Boyle Street Plaza, 9538 103A Ave NW, Edmonton at 12:00pm- 5:00pm as we feast, chat, and learn new things about each other on the issue of bylaw fines.

Did you know that Teepee Treats is now located downtown? (10219 106 St, Edmonton, AB T5J 1H5). They are one of the few Indigenous restaurants in Edmonton and they serve the best bisson bannock sandwich and soups among others. If you are looking for the best Indigenous meals within the city, please feel free to pay them a visit. Support local, support Teepee Treats.