Wanuskewin Heritage Park

Wanuskewin sits in a sheltered coulee that Northern Plains peoples used for around six thousand years, and it holds a dense concentration of sites: bison kill areas, a medicine wheel, tipi rings and camp layers, all within a short walk. It has been excavated continuously since 1982 and is Canada's longest-running archaeological dig. Bison were returned to the site in 2019 after an absence of about a hundred and fifty years, and within months their wallowing exposed four petroglyph boulders that had been buried, the first found in the area, along with the stone tool used to carve them. The park is on Canada's UNESCO tentative list.

History

For more than 6,000 years Northern Plains peoples gathered here to hunt bison, gather food and herbs and shelter from the winter winds, leaving camp sites, bison kill sites, tipi rings and one of fewer than 100 medicine wheels left on the northern plains. Scientific investigation began in the early 1930s, the park became a Provincial Heritage Property in 1984 and a National Historic Site in 1986, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled its plaque the following year, and it opened in June 1992; in 2016 it announced that it would seek UNESCO designation (Wikipedia, Wanuskewin Heritage Park).

The main sights

• The bison herd - animals returned in 2019 after 150 years absent.
• The petroglyphs - carved boulders the bison uncovered by wallowing.
• The archaeological sites - kill sites, tipi rings and a medicine wheel on trails.
• The interpretive programming - Northern Plains culture taught by Indigenous staff.

When to go

May to September for trails, bison viewing and outdoor programming; the gallery and restaurant run year-round. Powwow and cultural events fall in summer.

Good to know

Bison are in a large paddock and viewing depends on where they are. Archaeological sites are subtle on the ground and need the interpretation. Trails are exposed with little shade.

Nearby

Saskatoon lies south; Batoche is northeast.

Key facts