On the north side of the drive lane entry, a long sinuous stone wall undulates like the Bow Riv- er, representing time through the movement of running water. Allan Wolfleg named it the Win- tercount Wall and it continues through and into the building in a bulkhead that leads to breath- taking views of Blackfoot Crossing. A low wall in front of the Wintercount Wall cordons off a space for an interpretive prairie garden filled with important native plants. A coloured glass eagle feather fan over the front entry refers to the sacred eagle in Blackfoot re- ligion. Bald eagles frequently fly over the build- ing, a good omen for the future! Under the ea- gle feather canopy and through the front doors, one arrives under a skylit teepee that punctures the roof. This will be the location of a sculpture of Chief Crowfoot, Old Sun and One Gun who will welcome travellers from around the world to the Siksika Nation. Walking westwards towards the view, a visi- tor may sense what the buffalo felt as they ap- proached the escarpment of a Buffalo Jump. Until now, like the herds of buffalo, one has no inkling of the dramatic drop that lies beneath. Fortunately, a glass wall will keep the modern day tourist from the buffalo’s fate, but as for- mer Chief Strater Crowfoot has said, “the tour- ist is the modern day buffalo for our people; he will help our economy grow and allow us to preserve our history”. g An historic photograph of a teepee cover laid out on the ground as it was being painted, in- spired the design of the roof form. The shape and surface of the Centre’s roof incorporate familiar Blackfoot symbols of white puffballs and the stone weights used to hold down teepee tent flaps in high winds. There are thousands of such teepee rings still to be seen all over Al- berta on remnants of unbroken prairie where Blackfoot people once camped. The roof has three bands of colour, black at the base, tan in the centre and red at the top; colours also used on a large event teepee for the Centre. The black outer ring of the roof with the puffballs also has a traditional foothills motif, a series of rounded mounds. In Blackfoot tradition teepee designs come from visions, are owned by private indi- viduals and cannot be used by others unless the design is transferred in a ceremony. On the ground around the front of the Centre is a radial fan of V -shaped fieldstone splash pads which break the force of the water coming from roof scuppers. The V represents mountains,
from top: plan of the entry, shadow from the eagle feather glass canopy at the entrance, entry sequence, Interpretive centre aerial, painted teepee hide cover — the original reference for the configuration of the building.
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