Saskatoon is located in the middle of prairie country, cattle ranchers and wheat farmers aplenty!

We spent a couple of nights there but the highlight of this area for us all was Wanuskewin Heritage Park. The 760 acre park is devoted to the history of the Northern Plains First Nations history.

There are archeological sites here that confirm the existence of hunter-gather communities from 6000 years ago – pretty ancient history round these parts!

The indigenous peoples of the Northern Plains came to the Opimihaw Creek (Tipperary Creek) area year after year, hunting bison and range animals and gathering plants of the prairies.

No one fully appreciated the importance of this site until the early 1980s when it was identified as an archaeological marvel, The Queen officially declared it a National Heritage Site in 1987, unveiling a commemorative plaque and recognizing the unique nature of this site and its great scientific importance.

The thing that really makes it is the Saskatchewan Indian people who act as interpretative guides. They manage to bring added meaning to the site and so you leave with a better and deeper understanding of early Plains culture and a greater appreciation of their common heritage.

We watched a pow wow and had an interesting chat with one of the Centres guides in which he described the role of the elders, who act as custodians of the communities traditions. We loved the idea of such a strong history and culture that is passed on solely through word of mouth, down through the generations.

We then walked the trails around the park. Various points of interest along it include the Buffalo Jump, where buffalo would have been stampeded over the cliffs – bone beds 2 layers of bone deep were discovered here, some dated 5000 years ago. Remains of a medicine wheel as old as Stonehenge given an indication of the history of this place.

It appears to be an emotive subject here in Canada to discuss the First Nations – old wounds run deep. There are some 700,000 Native Canadians who belong to 630 bands spread across the country with different languages, cultures and customs. A long and complicated relationship with the Europeans who came to Canada and the various treaties signed to protect their heritage appears to continue to cause issues here. But Wanuskewin seems to be a great place to bring some deeper understanding to this fascinating culture and the kids seemed to really engage with it.