History and Culture
Experience First Nations Culture
Learn to build a tipi, create Aboriginal handcrafts, prepare a hide or try some bannock. The First Nation’s experience, knowledge of the land and culture, can be explored at heritage sites, museums, galleries and events around the province.
Wanuskewin Heritage Park, located just 5km outside Saskatoon, is a National Historic Site that brings to life 6,000 years of Northern Plains Indian culture. Here visitors will learn about the significance of the circle and the number four in First Nations culture. The circle theme appears in the replica buffalo pound and the ring-shaped amphitheatre, where the Round Dance and Hoop Dance are performed, while the number four is reflected by the visitor centre’s four-pointed roof that represents the four directions, four peoples, four seasons and four stages of life.
Wanuskewin Heritage Park is also home to 19 pre-contact sites, 4 interpretive trails, a medicine wheel, tipi rings and a buffalo jump, all of which make for an interactive environment for visitors to experience First Nations history first hand. Loosely translated, Wanuskewin means “seeking peace of mind” or “living in harmony”.
www.wanuskewin.com
Fabulous Fossils
Saskatchewan attractions will take you back even further in time. In Regina, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum’s Earth Sciences Gallery looks at forces that molded the province over two billion years ago when Saskatchewan was a very different place: a land of tropical forests, mountains and volcanoes; a place that was once a vast inland sea. Dinosaurs and other huge beasts of the past figure prominently in this gallery – Saskatchewan has incredibly rich fossil resources.
The ruggedly beautiful Frenchman River Valley near Eastend in the southwest corner of the province has long been considered a “supermarket of dinosaur bones”, and now you can get a close-up view of palaeontology work in progress at the T.rex Discovery Centre. In addition to learning more about “Scotty” the Tyrannosaurus rex, whose fossilized remains were found in the area, visit dig sites and try searching for fossils yourself!
At the Pasquia Palaeontological Site near Arborfield in east-central Saskatchewan, visitors can take a walk back in time on a scenic nature trail along the Carrot River to where the “Big Bert” Crocodilian fossil was found imbedded in shale. The shale here also exposes many other marine-like fossils, such as fish, shark’s teeth, plesiosaurs, and turtles, from 92 million years ago.
www.dinocountry.com
Grey Owl's Cabin
The Grey Owl Trail in Prince Albert National Park is a popular overnight hike. This 20-kilometre trail (one way) guides you to the preserved one-room log cabin of Grey Owl, built in 1931. Grey Owl was a world acclaimed naturalist, author and orator of the 1930’s, and this log cabin was his home for seven years. The trail encompasses stretches of beach along the east side of Kingsmere Lake, alternated with forested pathways and open hillside vistas.
www.parkscanada.ca/princealbert
Batoche National Historic Site
The history and culture of Saskatchewan’s Métis people also lives on today. Batoche National Historic Site is a good example. Here you can explore Métis history, and learn about Louis Riel and how he led his Métis people in an armed uprising against the Canadian Government in 1885. This site features the remains of the village of Batoche, including the church of St. Antoine de Padoue, the rectory, as well as the trenches used by Middleton's army. Métis traditions can be experienced in numerous events throughout Saskatchewan including canoeing contests, strong man competitions and King Trapper events.
www.pc.gc.ca/batoche
