Wanusekwin Heritage Park - Saskatchewan
July 2000
We pulled in to the campground in Saskatoon about
7:00 p.m. on July 3rd, had dinner and got set up in our campsite, and the
sun was still shining after 9:30. The farther north we get the longer
the daylight hours--not quite like Alaska, but certainly long days.
By the time it gets dark, it is time to go to bed.
One of the highlights in Saskatchewan, according
to our guide book, is the Wanusekwin Heritage Park, a National Historic
Site here in Canada. This fascinating place has 6,000 years of documented
history. If you read Jean Auel’s book, The Mammoth Hunters,
then you would understand the Buffalo Jump and the Buffalo Pound shown
in the park. Ancient plains people hunted bison in two different
ways. In the Buffalo Jump they would stampede them to a place where
there was a drop, so the bison would go crashing down and be knocked out
or disabled in some other way. The waiting hunters would then kill
these animals necessary for food, clothing and shelter in this harsh land.
In a Buffalo Pound they would herd them into a natural or man-made corral
where they would be in a tight circle so the hunters could make their kill.
)Narrative continues below photos)
Archeologists have found thousands of bison bones
from the centuries of hunting in the area. This large plains area
has walking trails, or interpretive trails which seems to be the current
word of fashion. We hiked into the park up to the buffalo jump, crossing
a meandering creek and down to the river. We enjoyed a show of modern
Indian dancing performed by one very nice young man who obviously wanted
to be a stand-up comedian instead of an Indian dancer. He pointed
out some of the modern and colorful items on his costume, such as CD’s,
which I had already spotted. Other things he had purchased at Wal-Mart.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
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