Galt Museum Set to Unveil Nitstapiisksahkoo: Nitsitapii Landscapes Part 3 Exhibit

Members of the media are invited to attend the opening of the new exhibit Nitsitapiisksakoo: Nitsitapii Landscapes Part 3. A media scrum will take place on Friday, August 9, 2024, at 10:30 am at the Galt Museum & Archives, located at 502 1 Street S, Lethbridge, AB.

Iinii (Buffalo) grazing along Otahkoisistah/Otahkoi-tah-tayi/Otahkoíítahtaa (Yellowstone River). Photo Courtesy Kyla Black (Gathering Dust Photography)

Lethbridge — The Galt Museum & Archives | Akaisamitohkanao’pa (eternal gathering place) is excited to announce the opening of Nitsitapiisksakoo: Nitsitapii Landscapes Part 3, the last of a trilogy of exhibits focusing on spiritual and culturally significant sites within traditional Blackfoot Territory.

The exhibit will be on display from August 10, 2024 to February 9, 2025. Blackfoot voices and knowledge lead this exhibit series. It is co-curated by Elders Ninna Piiksii (Mike Bruised Head) and Itsinohtss piyaki (Rebecca Many Grey Horses) with Galt Archives Assistant Akaiksims’staki (Bobbie Fox).

Iitassiimoo (Where we Ambushed the Enemy aka Hell's Gate, MT). Image Courtesy Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development.

This installment of the exhibit explores more traditional landscapes of the Nitsitapii including Alberta sites like Cypress Hills and Milk River as well as Montana sites like Yellowstone and Judith River. Through this exhibit, Blackfoot and Non-Blackfoot can learn about the history, original Blackfoot place names, and the cultural importance of these various landscapes to the Siksikaitsitapi.

“The exhibit put together thanks to photographs sourced from local photographers, archival repositories, and vivid explanations of each site’s purpose by Ninna Piiksii and Itsinohtss piyaki in English and Blackfoot,” says co-curator, Bobbie Fox.

Cypress Hills. Image courtesy of Kyla Black (Gathering Dust Photography)

Visitors to this exhibit are encouraged to seek out Blackfoot Elders and Knowledge Keepers to extend their learning experience of these sites and the Blackfoot way of life. When visiting these sites, the public is reminded to treat them with great respect and gentleness. Many of the places discussed in this exhibit are still used by the Nitsitapii culturally and ceremonially. The public is encouraged to show gratitude at a site by offering tobacco and not removing any elements from the site they are visiting.

“The sites featured in this exhibit were selected because they are culturally or educationally significant to the Nitsitapii for a variety of reasons,” says co-curator Itsinohtss piyaki.

Milk River. Image courtesy of Kyla Black Gathering Dust Photography

A digital version of all three exhibits is available for viewing on the Galt Museum & Archives| Akaisamitohkanao’pa website. This exhibit, like its sister exhibits, will also become a travelling exhibit once the exhibit is no longer on display.