Photo of the Fort Calgary name change announcement
Fort Calgary has officially changed its name to The Confluence Historic Site & Park Land to better represent the diverse history of Calgary.
At 10 a.m. members of Calgary’s Indigenous community gathered at The Confluence for a traditional Blackfoot naming ceremony lead by Blackfoot Elder Leonard Bastien Weasel Traveler who transferred the Blackfoot name I’áámito’táaattsiiyo’pi (Eeh-daah-mee-doh-daat-tsee-yoop) which means “harmonious meeting place” to the Confluence.
Along with the name change, the Confluence will also be developing programing which will reflect on that complex history.
Visitors who are familiar with the programing at the historic site will be noticing some changes as the site will be updating its exhibits.
The exhibits haven’t been updated since 2001 where much of the language used shows Indigenous people in a past tense and tells the story from a colonial lens.
Many of the upcoming exhibits hopes to broaden the narrative which will represent the many histories which are tied to the site.
Leading this change is the newly hired Indigenous Curator Star Crop Eared Wolf of the Kainaiwa Nation (Blood Tribe).
Star shared the plans for an upcoming exhibit to the historic site which will open in December of 2024.
Photo of The Confluence’s Indigenous Curator Star Crop Eared Wolf
A new on-going exhibit will be a traditional Blackfoot winter count robe which highlights significant events that have taken place at the Historic site.
The Confluence will be holding an open house on Sunday May 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to engage with the community about the future of the site.
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