Paper short abstract:

This paper will analyse the complexities of interpreting and presenting multifaceted and conflicting senses of place in a Canadian river valley landscape shaped by indigenous habitation, colonial rule, and the memories and emotions of the Siksika Blackfoot community.

Paper long abstract:

Blackfoot Crossing on the Siksika Blackfoot Reserve in Alberta, Canada, is a place filled with the sense of past and present. For the local community it holds a strong sense of place linked to its historical, spiritual, ecological and cultural importance. But it is also a site of conflicting emotions and difficult memories.

Originally a river crossing, the valley has been a place of great significance in the Blackfoot territory for thousands of years. It is a site of sacred ceremonies, celebrations, material resources, burial sites, camp sites, archaeological remains, and home to the Siksika community. In 1877 it was the location for the signing of Treaty 7 which marked a new and difficult era of colonialism for the Blackfoot peoples and complicated the sense of place.

The area is now memorialised and interpreted through Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park (BCHP), developed by the community for the community and tourists. BCHP both preserves and revitalises tangible and intangible heritage at the site and has returned performance to the landscape through dance, traditional crafts, singing and storytelling. The interpretive centre identifies and cultivates notions of belonging, identity and community pride, which is a vital process in a community burdened by the hardships of poverty and discrimination.

BCHP celebrates, interrogates, reinvigorates and ultimately helps to construct this complex sense of place. This paper will analyse the complexities of interpreting and presenting multifaceted and conflicting senses of place in a landscape shaped by indigenous habitation, colonial rule and the memories and emotions of the community.