all been stained the sacred yellow ochre used in ceremonies and still a common colour used by many teepee owners today. A red ochre polished plaster is used on the marquee panel between the entry doors to the Vision Quest theatre. Through wood inlay, feather motif doors into the theatre, a dome ceiling with fiberoptic stars of the Wolf Trail (our Milky Way) glows above. The Blackfoot peoples had their own stories and mythologies of the moon and stars. The night sky used in the theatre is the winter sky seen in January or early February, if you stepped outside on a clear winter night. The major constella- tions are brought to life by modern day storytell- ers. Wall sconces are based on medicine shields and the drums that accompany singers at Pow Wows. The symbolic colours of the Nation: yel- low, green, blue and dark red, plus black and white are found in the Siksika emblem on the stage floor. The library on the southwest corner of the main level will be the repository of the Elders’ oral history, recorded stories, family histories and genealogy as a collection of books unfolds over the coming years. The radial light pattern over the library desk is a reflected plan view of a medicine wheel, and the multi-coloured layer- ing on the south wall of the library recalls the fancy dresses favoured by the Pow Wow and Jingle Dress Dancers of the late 20th Century. Two grand staircases to the left and right of the west facing glass curtain wall lead to the lower gallery, framing views of the valley. An outlook on the landing surveys the 20,000 ft 2 of exhibit space below. The glass on the railings is sup- ported by bow-shaped baluster, an obvious reference to the bows used to hunt buffalo and other game. The interior colours of the lower gallery tee- pees represent the four seasons and the four phases of Blackfoot economic evolution: yellow for summer —the Dog Days and the origins of Blackfoot culture, red for the great fall hunts and the introduction of horse and guns —the Horse Days, blue for winter —the reservation period with the residential schools, and green for spring —the cultural renewal of today’s nation. The four gigantic teepee bases whose 50’ long teepee poles are far from decorative are the pri- mary supports for the main floor and roof of the building. Pounded 60’ into the lacustrine (pre- historic lakebed) soils of the escarpment, are a myriad of concrete pile foundations that will forever anchor the building onto the hillside. g
Design Team: Alksandra Ceklic David Harper Simon Lepage Leanne Ritter Chad Russill Lyle Sauter
Ron Goodfellow, wrote ‘An Historical and Ecological Study of Southern Alberta’ in 1969, the basis of the conceptual work for the Blackfoot Crossing Interpretive Centre, started in 1985. He is principal of Goodfellow Architects Ltd. in Calgary. Chad Russill is a Montana State University graduate and currently an intern architect at Goodfellow Architecture Ltd.
from top: Dog Days Teepee skylights on the roof, Horse Days teepees on the main floor, Future Days teepee bases on the lower level, section through the teepee construction.
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