Blackfoot Crossing Interpretive Centre Siksika Nation, Alberta Goodfellow Architects
Ron Goodfellow and Chad Russill
w hat does it take to do a crafted piece of architecture where every edge, every inscribed surface, and every mark on the landscape is under your vi- sion and control? Well, the better part of 25 years, a collective and multi- generational client with a tremendous depth of culture, perseverance and, ultimately, a very modest fee relative to other projects of this complexity. The client is the Siksika Nation, and at the beginning of the project, valu- able information was gathered from elders such as the 98 year old Mar- garet Bad Boy, whose parents and grandparents hunted buffalo on the southern Alberta prairies. Others, such as Russell Wright, contributed the philosophical framework for the building by conveying the signifi- cance of the four seasons. He described the importance of the Societies and the evolution of Blackfoot culture from the Dog Days (summer) to the Horse Culture (fall), the Reserves and Residential Schools (winter) and onto modern times (spring). Former Chief Leo Pretty Young Man, Maggie Black Kettle, Floyd Royal, Walter Poor Eagle and many others contributed their wisdom and their stories of Siksika culture and history. Out of this complex and massive volume of cultural information came a building that can only be described as a complete metaphor of Blackfoot culture. The Siksika Nation (originally the Blackfoot Reserve) was established by Treaty Seven in 1877. The Reserve is over 70,000 acres and lies south of the Trans-Canada Highway along the Bow River, one hour east of Calgary. About 2000 acres of land containing the largest intact riverine eco-system left on the western prairies was set aside for the interpretive centre. Not only a reserve from a prairie ecology perspective, this territory is also a five thousand-year old human landscape. Blackfoot Crossing was one of the few safe places where early travellers could safely cross the fast-flowing Bow River. The natives called it Ridge Under Water because of a wide sandstone bench that washed out in a massive flood in 1912. Over the millennia, the site became an important
crossroads and Crowfoot insisted that Treaty Seven be signed there be- cause his people knew there was good hunting, plenty of grass and fire- wood and it had cultural significance for all four Blackfoot tribes. An interpretive centre on First Nations land serves two purposes: one as a community and cultural centre, the other as a visitor centre where the ways and history of the Blackfoot people can be both exhibited and taught. The hope is that the centre will become economically self-sus- taining, but even the famous Tyrrell Paleontological Museum in Drum- heller with an average of 1000 visitors a day does not break even on entry receipts. Such centres must be supported by the Canadian and Provincial governments, for these buildings, dispersed across the whole country, not just in resource-rich Ottawa, are the foundation of our social and cul- tural history. The Blackfoot Crossing Interpretive Centre is a compendium of Black- foot iconography. The entire building design should be viewed as a rein- terpretation of a vast range of Blackfoot culture, its sacred icons, and the everyday life of the Siksika people. With every design decision, whether on a site planning level, the building, or with an interior design detail, the building is a literal metaphor of traditional Blackfoot iconography. After viewing a number of the more abstract design concepts presented to the Elders at one of the first design meetings, the late Margaret Bad Boy said, “We don’t want any funny teepees!” Clearly, to her and the Elders who instructed the design team, the building was to be an essential teach- ing tool that would salvage and re-instill the pride of the Nation’s youth in a proud tradition that stretches back thousands of years. Ann McMas- ter put it this way, “if we don’t start to make our culture interesting and relevant to our kids, then it will all be gone when our generation passes on”. This is a building of great meaning and significance to the Siksika; a collective medicine bundle of symbols and patterns.
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