The Confluence undergoes major renovation, exhibits now removed

Once filled with historic elements from Calgary's past, The Confluence is now an empty space.

The tourist destination is undergoing a major renovation, the first phase of which began in November.

All of the exhibits at the historic site have been dismantled, and officials say it's now up to new full-time curator Ahkoinnimaki Star Crop Eared Wolf to fill the 84-square-metre space.

Jennifer Thompson, The Confluence president, says many of the old exhibits were saved. Some went to the Whyte Museum in Banff and others to the Calgary Firefighters Museum.

"The full renovation for the whole cultural center will be $5 million and there's three phases," she said. "The first phase is the introduction to the Blackfoot exhibit, which is about $1.2 million."

It's only the second major renovation of the space in 47 years; the exhibits that were removed for were built close to 30 years ago.

"We're certainly sad to see things go, but we definitely heard from community that they're excited to see something new come to life here, and really start to tell more stories about the context of this place."

Thompson says the construction crews hired are locally based. They've installed windows around the area so the public can see the project as it unfolds.

The museum is still open during construction on a donation basis.

"There's so much history, so much culture, so many important events that have happened on this land," Thompson said. "So for us, telling those stories and exploring all of the different narratives of this very special place is what we're really trying to achieve."

Phase 2 of the project will involve the Stoney Nakoda and Metis Nations, while the third phase will explore the Northwest Mounted Police colonization of the region in Fort Calgary.

Then, they plan it to look at the updating the outdoor space.

"We will look at the full 42 acres (17 hectares) of The Confluence and explore how can we change the outdoor space to really invigorate it, to really take care of it properly and to also have it tell stories," she said. "We're working with the city of Calgary and partnering on creating a residential School Memorial within the back northeast corner of the land."

Paula Smith is the museum's Indigenous relations manager and a member of the Blackfoot Nation. She's excited the see construction begin on the first phase of the project.

"I've seen the plans, they are beautiful, they are well consulted by our Blackfoot elders, knowledge keepers, artists and by community members," she said. "All of the new artifacts are being built and developed by our artists and our knowledge keepers, you can see who made them."

Smith says it's important to showcase the history of the Blackfoot territory and its people for visitors to the city and Calgarians.

"As a Blackfoot woman, I'm very proud of The Confluence and the work that they've done seeking out funding and implementing this plan so that it becomes a reality," she said. "Once it's done and open and we start providing programing surrounding the exhibit, it's going to be something that this city has never seen before I think."

Learn more about The Confluence here: https://www.theconfluence.ca/visit