The 320 pound rock, Manitou Asinîy is of great spiritual significance to Indigenous peoples in Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is located in a stand-alone space on the second floor of the museum and is designed to encourage reflection and quiet discussion. The Iron Creek meteorite, a round pitted stone made from the purest iron, is believed to hold great spiritual power. Viewed from a certain angle, the stone reveals the profile of a face believed by some native groups to resemble the Creator. Due to it’s sacred nature to the indigenous people, pictures or video are not allowed in this area of the museum, but many come by to pay homage and leave spiritual offerings.
The 4.5-billion-year-old stone is symbolic of RAM’s commitment to weave Indigenous stories throughout all six of its human history galleries. As lead fabricator and installer of the environment and the sacred stone, kubik’s experience with sacred artefacts enabled special care and accommodation for the culturally sensitivity required of this program. kubik team members were honored to participate in the smudging and pipe ceremony during the installation of this spiritually significant artefact.