The Confluence's first permanent exhibit in over 2 decades celebrates Blackfoot way of life

Amir Said · CBC News

· Posted: May 18, 2025 12:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Blackfoot civilization is successful the spotlight astatine The Confluence.

Kípaitápiiyssinnooni, which translates to Our Way of Life in the Blackfoot language, was unveiled to the Calgary assemblage connected Saturday arsenic the archetypal large imperishable grounds to unfastened astatine the historical tract since 2001.

The 900-square-foot grounds is simply a carnal look of the corporate cognition and ongoing beingness of the Blackfoot people, said curator Star Crop Eared Wolf.

"It's a spot to learn, to reflect, and to acquisition the richness of Blackfoot past and culture," she said. 

"For excessively long, Blackfoot radical and different Indigenous radical person been portrayed arsenic a disappearing and a vanishing grace. But we are not gone, we are here."

Kípaitápiiyssinnooni draws inspiration from the accepted layout of a Blackfoot lodge arsenic good arsenic Crop Eared Wolf's puerility experiences. It's made up of materials made by Indigenous creators and shares cognition gathered from interviews with Blackfoot elders and cognition keepers. 

Throughout the exhibit, the Blackfoot connection makes up the archetypal portion of each write-up, with English translations coming second. 

Crop Eared Wolf, a Niitsitapi creator and subordinate of the Kainai Nation, is the archetypal full-time curator hired astatine The Confluence successful much than 2 decades, wherever she's worked connected putting the caller grounds unneurotic for good implicit a year.

"It's an honour and a consciousness of pridefulness conscionable to beryllium capable to beryllium a portion of this and correspond our people," she said.

WATCH | First imperishable grounds to unfastened astatine The Confluence successful 20 years focuses connected Blackfoot culture:

New absorption for The Confluence

The Confluence Historic Site and Parkland, formerly called Fort Calgary earlier being renamed successful 2024, is ushering successful a caller era, starting with the opening of Kípaitápiiyssinnooni.

"We've heard that radical are excited and looking for a transportation to Calgary's individuality and Calgary's story, and what I similar to deliberation is that this is the archetypal measurement successful that direction," said Jennifer Thompson, president of The Confluence.

The grounds marks the completion of the archetypal signifier of The Confluence's ongoing grounds overhaul, a process that has been underway since November 2024. 

Phase one saw 8 exhibits dating backmost to astir 3 decades agone removed and enactment into retention to marque mode for Kípaitápiiyssinnooni.

"On Blackfoot territory, it lone makes consciousness to statesman the communicative with Blackfoot voices," said Thompson.

The 2nd signifier of the overhaul volition bring successful exhibits connected the Stoney Nakoda, Tsuut'ina and Métis nations, followed by signifier three, which is acceptable to absorption connected colonization and the constitution of Fort Calgary 150 years agone by the North-West Mounted Police.

Expected to beryllium implicit wrong the adjacent 3 years, the grounds redevelopment marks the historical site's 2nd large overhaul since the Fort Calgary Interpretive Centre archetypal opened successful 1978.

"From the infinitesimal you locomotion successful the doors wherever you spot however the rivers were created, to Kípaitápiiyssinnooni, wherever you perceive the stories of the archetypal peoples connected this land, you get a consciousness of our individuality present astatine Mohkinstsis," said Thompson.

Thompson hopes the unveiling of the Blackfoot exhibit, which took spot the time earlier International Museum Day connected May 18, volition besides spark alteration among different museums and historical sites.

"We spot this arsenic a telephone to different institutions successful Canada to determination beyond designation and into relationship, and to honour the ineffable work we stock to this land, and unneurotic arsenic pact people," she said.