Kistapinânihk/Omaniciye Makoca/Tł’ogh tëlë exhibit. (Jaryn Vecchio/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

New Exhibit

P.A. historical museum set to celebrate opening of Indigenous Peoples exhibit

Oct 27, 2022 | 3:00 PM

After five years of work, the Prince Albert Historical Museum is just about finished creating its display focused on the area’s Indigenous people.

The Kistapinânihk/Omaniciye Makoca/Tł’ogh tëlë exhibit, also known as the Gathering Place, highlights the history of the First Nations and Métis people before Prince Albert became a city in late 1904.

“This room specifically talks about their contributions to early Prince Albert,” said Michelle Taylor, the manager, and curator for the Prince Albert Historical Society.

Thanks to consultations with knowledge keepers, the exhibit highlights specific historical moments while showcasing different artifacts. This includes, what Taylor noted was her favourite piece of the display, a fur press.

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“It was actually used in Prince Albert to package the furs and move them east,” Taylor said.

This machine was donated to the museum by the North West Company.

Fur press on display in Kistapinânihk/Omaniciye Makoca/Tł’ogh tëlë exhibit. (Jaryn Vecchio/paNOW Staff)

The display also includes ‘sound showers’ which only make noise when someone walks under them. One plays the sound of running water, another plays the sound of buffalo, while a third plays music that was inspired by murals set up in the exhibit.

This is just one of the features on display throughout the roughly $200,000 project.

The exhibit is open to the public; however, the museum is holding an official grand opening on Nov. 25. There they will have the entire display officially blessed

Taylor is hoping the exhibit piques the public’s interest.

“Growing up in southern Manitoba, we didn’t always have the same connection to the Indigenous people as the people in Prince Albert do,” she said. “I think that a lot of our early Indigenous history and the contributions of the Indigenous people have been forgotten or pushed aside, so this is our chance to show what the Indigenous people have done.”

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow