Sky-watching domes connect Métis Crossing visitors with Indigenous knowledge
CBC
Knowledge-holder Lilyrose Meyers calls the eight new sky-watching domes at Métis Crossing the ultimate experience in land-based learning.
Métis Crossing is a year-round cultural interpretive destination on 200 hectares of land, made up of five river lot titles dating back to the 1800s. It's 120 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, a few minutes' drive south of the town of Smoky Lake.
Each hard-shell insulated dome is equipped with a bathroom, a kitchenette and a king-size bed.
But there are no TVs. Instead, Meyers points to the transparent ceilings that allow visitors to comfortably watch the show in the skies above.
WATCH | Check out the new sky-watching domes near Smoky Lake:
"Part of the roof is clear ... so you can see the stars at night," Meyers says. "You're nice and warm. It's fully heated; even the floor is heated."
Meyers gives interpretive talks about the night sky. She tells visitors that for generations, Métis people have used the stars to time hunts, harvest plants and berries and track changes in the weather.
"We are seasonal people," she says. "We look to the heavens for that. We don't study the stars like astronomers do."
Meyers says the rural location with little light pollution makes the experience a great fit.
Peter Severn, director of facilities at Métis Crossing, says half of the domes face north, to catch the northern lights. The others face south to view a variety of constellations.
There's a trail system from the cultural gathering centre and lodge to the domes, "so we have the option of walking over, we have the option of skiing in the winter, or the option of the golf cart," says Severn.
The domes took about a year to build and included open cut excavation for the mechanical, power, communication lines in a major construction project.
"The dome areas, the indoor garden, the potable water treatment plant and all the infrastructure was in the neighbourhood of $6.2 million," says Severn.
CEO Juanita Marios says the project is the latest move by Métis Crossing to become a signature four-season destination on Alberta's landscape.
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This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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