Caronport, Saskatchewan to Calgary, Alberta - Blackfoot Crossing Historical Site

On the way to the Blackfoot Crossing Historical Centre we passed the largest teepee in the world which is located in Medicine Hat.  This teepee was constructed for the 1988 Olympics and moved to Medicine Hat after the games.  It is over 20 stories high and overlooks and ancient buffalo jump which was also the site of a major battle between the Blackfoot and Cree tribes.  We didn't have time to do more than take a quick picture as we drove past.  We wanted to get to Blackfoot Crossing to have ample time to explore the museum dedicated to the Blackfoot tribes.

Saamis Teepee at Medicine Hat

We were in awe of the stunning location of the very modern Blackfoot heritage centre which blended in extremely well with its surroundings.  Frank Lloyd Wright could not have created a better architectural repository for the tribal artifacts and state of the art education center.  The building blends into the surrounding terrain and overlooks the Bow River and a sacred valley which served as a meeting place for the Blackfoot throughout history.  The centre is located on lands belonging to the Siksika Nation which is the northern most tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy.  Blackfoot Crossing is the site of the signing of Treaty No. 7 whereby the First Nation tribes of Alberta ceded most of their lands to Queen Victoria in exchange for a guarantee of perpetual hunting and trapping rights on the land surrendered, annual payments and provisions to the tribes and land to be set aside as reservations for the First Nation people.  Over time, most of the provisions of the treaty were ignored or modified at the expense of the First Nation people.  We spent several hours learning more about the First Nation people, particularly the Siksika.

Blackfoot Crossing Historical Centre