Unravelling Complex Stories

Explore the vast network of places and complex stories that reach across Canada and connect to the place we now call Fort Calgary National Historic Site. Unravelling Complex Stories (formerly Complex Stories) delves into the reality of our histories and the questions that emerge from it. Fort Calgary is situated where the Bow and Elbow Rivers meet in Treaty 7 territory, these were the ancestral lands of the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy, as well as the Iyarhe Nakoda Nations comprising Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley; the Tsuu’tina Nation of the Dené people, and the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3.

Episodes

Jiajia Li on Culture & Kin

May 5, 2023 • 15 mins

Jiajia Li talks about her journey as a first generation Chinese Canadian flutist and how music connects her to her family and culture back home.

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Kari Woo on Culture & Kin

May 5, 2023 • 26 mins

Kari Woo chats about her mixed media work that reflect on ancestral worship, loss of memories and exploring her identity and family history as a fourth generation Chinese Canadian.

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Mao Chen & Chris Savage on Culture & Kin

May 5, 2023 • 25 mins

Learn about the collaborative process between Mao Chen & Chris Savage of Mao Projects, and how Eastern and Western cultures inform their ceramic works.
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Carrie Yap on Culture & Kin

May 5, 2023 • 24 mins

Carrie Yap chats about the revival of Cantonese Opera through her work as a milliner, and placemaking in today’s Chinatown for the younger generation.
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Alex Kwong on Culture & Kin

May 5, 2023 • 18 mins

Follow the journey of Alex Kwong’s four generations of family history from Interior BC to Alberta and their connection to the construction of the railroad.
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What is the Orange Shirt Society?

June 29, 2022 • 32 mins

In this episode, the Fort Calgary team chats with Phyllis Webstad, the founder and ambassador of the Orange Shirt Society. She talks about her work sharing her story across Canada, and raising awareness about the impacts of the residential school system.

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What is Hidden History

March 31, 2022 • 12 mins

Troy and Allison launch season three of Unravelling Complex Stories by reflecting on some hidden, erased and forgotten histories, and the reasons these stories are important to us today.

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What is Digital Heritage Preservation?

June 30, 2021 • 25 mins

Troy is joined by guest host Adrienne Dewsberry to talk with Dr. Peter Dawson, archaeology professor at UCalgary, about the role digital technology plays in preserving endangered and remote heritage sites.

Content Warning: this episode includes discussion of residential schools and the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at these sites.