Fort Edmonton Park receives international award for Indigenous exhibit

Fort Edmonton Park. (CTV News Edmonton)

EDMONTON — The Indigenous People’s Experience at Fort Edmonton Park is being recognized with an international award.

The park has received a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement - Heritage Center for its immersive exhibit currently on display.

It’s said to celebrate outstanding work on educational, historical and entertainment projects world-wide, a release read.

“We are truly honoured with this award recognition,” Darren Dalgleish, the CEO of Fort Edmonton Management Company, said.

“We want to express our deepest gratitude to the many Indigenous voices from the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and the Métis Nation of Alberta for their partnership and collaboration in bringing this amazing experience to life.”

Dalgleish added that the transformative experience is “one-of-a-kind.”

“When I learned of the Thea award recognition for the Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Park, I was not surprised at all,” Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said.

According to Dalgleish, what makes the park so unique is that it engages people with Indigenous customs, traditions and stories of the people who lived on the lands “for hundreds and thousands of years.”

“This exhibit is a breathtaking reflection of Indigenous communities in the sacred territory of Treaty Six,” Sohi said.

According to the release, more than 50 Indigenous Elders, historians, educators and community members were consulted on the content shared in the exhibit.

“The Indigenous People's Experience at Fort Edmonton will continue to be a place of learning, of hope and of reconciliation,” Sohi added.

The display remains open to the public until Dec. 19 on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. for more information head online.