{"id":80921,"date":"2026-04-21T14:21:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/?p=80921"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:21:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:21:53","slug":"calgarians-unite-in-spiderweb-enactment-inspired-by-blackfoot-creation-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2026\/04\/21\/calgarians-unite-in-spiderweb-enactment-inspired-by-blackfoot-creation-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Calgarians unite in spiderweb enactment inspired by Blackfoot creation story"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Ani to Pisi Spiderweb Enactment culminated with participants holding hands in large circle to symbolize unity. (Photo by Kamalveer Singh\/SAIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Calgarians came together over the noon hour on March 27 to take part in the Ani to Pisi Spiderweb Enactment at the Confluence Historic Site & Parkland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ani to Pisi, a Blackfoot creation story, teaches that <\/span>all<\/span> people are connected like a spiderweb and should support one another. <\/span>Participants moved together on the beat of a drum, forming a human web to show unity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a story about connection,” said Lexi Towns, a Mount Royal University student who helped organize the event. “It reminds us to learn from Indigenous people and take part in reconciliation.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Organizers and elders detail the history of the Ani to Pisi enactment. The Blackfoot creation story focuses on connection and community. (Photo by Kamalveer Singh\/SAIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The idea, according to Towns, came from Elder Roy Bear Chief, who imagined people forming a human spider web.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot everything goes perfectly,” Towns said. “But like a spiderweb, things happen naturally,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The location of the event holds special meaning, said Blair Cunningham, Indigenous Cultural Development Coordinator at The Confluence <\/span>\u201cThis area is very significant,\u201d he said. “And it is also the future site of a residential school memorial.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Volunteer John Nishimura said events like this are important for learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs settlers, it is our duty to learn about the history and experiences of Indigenous people,\u201d Nishimura said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Towns said she hoped the event would stay with the participants long after they packed up to go back to work or home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf one person found meaning or understanding, then it\u2019s a success.”<\/p>\n

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Blair Cunningham, Indigenous Cultural Development Coordinator at The Confluence, serves coffee to attendees at the Ani to Pisi Human Spiderweb Enactment. (Photo by Kamalveer Singh\/SAIT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Calgarians came together over the noon hour on March 27 to take part in the Ani to Pisi Spiderweb Enactment at the Confluence Historic Site & Parkland. Ani to Pisi, a Blackfoot creation story, teaches [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":991,"featured_media":80991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,212,9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-80921","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-city","8":"category-downtown","9":"category-life","10":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/991"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80921"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81190,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80921\/revisions\/81190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}