U of L digitizing Blackfoot items that were put into museums

By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 7, 2024.

mootookakiossin.ca photo - Visiting items in the work room at the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology in Cambridge, July 1, 2019. From front: Velma Crowshoe, Jerry Potts, Alison Clark, Carol Murray, Linda Little Chief, Rachel Hand, Kent Ayoungman, Anita Herle, and John Murray.

The University of Lethbridge New Media program has been collaborating with the Blackfoot Confederacy since 2018 to digitalize some materials which were removed from the Blackfoot people and put into museums at the beginning of the 20th century.

Christine Clark, assistant professor for the Faculty of Fine Arts, says it has been an educational experience to understand how colonialism has and continues to influence Indigenous people.

“It’s really actually been an educational experience, understanding some of the legacies of colonialism that have continued to harm indigenous peoples, not having their objects physically is really detrimental to like knowledge sharing and like continuing to teach and learn the skills of (what) the material represents,” said Clark.

The digitalizing process of these artifacts involves taking many images of the object from all angles which are then processed in a software which turns the pictures into a 3D model you can interact with in a virtual space.

The Blackfoot people are particular about which items are digitalized as items used in ceremonies are considered sacred to them.

“Because we’re interested in publicly sharing the material, the elders are very specific about not digitizing their movement and anything that’s ceremonial or sacred,” said Clark.

The items being digitalized are things like moccasins, clothing, and tools.

Clark says it has been a humbling yet rewarding experience to build relationships with the Blackfoot territory as a non-Indigenous person.

“I’m just honoured to be able to be involved in that. I’ve been given new friends and trust and (been able to) build these incredible relationships and been able to learn more about the territory I’m on and the space that I occupy. For me, it’s really about friendships and the sharing of knowledge and the responsibility that comes with all of that,” said Clark.

The items which have been digitized as well as more information on the project can be viewed at https://mootookakiossin.ca.