Galt unveils new moccasin-themed exhibit

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on October 15, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Participants in the Walk a Mile in My Moccasins exhibit look at the artwork and stories attached to each piece at the Galt Museum and Archives.

The Galt Museum and Archives has unveiled a new temporary installation called Walk a Mile in My Moccasins, curated by Camina Weasel Moccasin.

The exhibit features 18 stories offering insight into the paths walked every day by members of Kainai and Piikani Nations. The stories are placed on the ground in the main hallway of the Galt where a picture of the participants’ moccasins and story is visible to the public.

“(What) I was specifically wanting to do with this exhibit was highlight the people’s strength and resiliency,” said Weasel Moccasin. “A lot of the participants decided to talk about challenges that they had overcome or accomplishments that they are really proud of.”

Working with Indigenous members in the community, the exhibit came about through discussions and getting to know one another.

“I had a chance to sit down with participants one-on-one and have an open honest conversation about their experiences that they have had. I am really honoured that they trusted me with those experiences and I hope I represented them in a way that makes them feel proud,” said Weasel Moccasin. “For Niitsitapi culture a lot of times we can’t talk about ourselves without first acknowledging our ancestors and those in the past. Some of these participants, one in particular, she talked about how this design actually belonged to her grandfather and is the third generation to use this design.”

The project saw the work of Indigenous creators and designers come together to make this exhibit possible.

“What I find interesting about this exhibit is it’s the first one done by the Indigenous curator here at the museum, it’s all Blackfoot participants, and I was able to find a Blackfoot designer to design each of the squares,” said Weasel Moccasin. “The Galt has been doing amazing things in terms of the scope of Truth and Reconciliation. One of the things that we have talked about as staff is about reconciliation is not a destination or an endpoint that we reach at some point, but a continual journey.”

With the exhibit on until the end of the calendar year at the Galt, there is work to bring more projects like this to the museum in the future.

“My intention is that this actually becomes a series,” said Weasel Moccasin. “I was sharing ideas with somebody about what we could do with youth, what do they aspire to do, what are some of the challenges that they feel they have, maybe one that is focused on the children. I would like to see this continuing and becoming a series.”

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