New school is tribute to Cree life and culture

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It was just another school day for thousands of kids across Alberta. But in the Montana reservation 20 km south of Hobbema, it was a day to be remembered, a day to be cherished, a day to be thankful. The doors to the new hi-tech, user-friendly, Meskanahk Ka-Nipa-Wit School opened, welcoming Montana's 123 students into its halls.

"It has been a long time coming," said Barb Currie, director of education for the Montana reserve. "Our old school has been condemned for more than two years, so it was well past time for a new school."

What the Montanan people have built, though, is much more than just a new school. The school is an architectural tribute to Cree life and a complement to the ambling prairire that surrounds it.

The single-story brick structure rises gentle from the soil and continues upward, reaching its peak at the tops of five tipi-shaped glass skylights. The largest is the focal point of the school's central meeting place, a small amphitheatre located in the front entrance.

"This is the school's central gathering place," said Currie. This is a place to gather and hear Elders talk and tell stories, and it is where we burn the Sweetgrass in the mornings."

In the center of the circle sits a rock, the size of a lamb, which represents the Earth. On the top of the rock is a small well where the Sweetgrass is burned.

Soaring above the circle is the glass tipi, which adds light and warmth to the enclave. On the walls where the tipi meets the ceiling is a story told through the paintings of Montana Band artist Aaron Currie.

"When I paint I go by my spirit," said Currie. "I had a general idea of what I wanted to paint but I follow my spirit day to day."

Currie settled on four paintings, one for each of the four directions. An eagle, a bear and a wolf grace the north, west and south walls.

"The east wall was important because that is where the sun rises," said Currie. "For this reason, I chose to paint an old man asking for prayer. This is how we start our morning."

The circular mural is still in progress. When Currie's painting is done, his story will be finished and he will print it beside the mural.

Sharing is what the school is about. It is here that cultures are shared, that new-age technology is shared with Cree tradition and where modern architecture is shared with Native heritage.

"The design for the school was a team effort," said Morley Workun, one of the architects from Workun Garrick Architects & Associates Inc., the firm responsible for the plans.

"Barbara Currie and the band's building committee were integral in defining the needs for the school and developing elements of Native culture into the design," he added.

Workun pointed to the incorporation of the tip designing the skylights, the central gathering place, the use of earth-tone colors and the use of much natural light as essential elements of Cree life.