Wanaskewin~ meeting place

Wanaskewin. It literally means meeting place in the Cree language. For thousands of years Aboriginal people have been meeting in this area to hunt bison. This meeting place is a natural valley with the South Saskatchewan river flowing at one side and a steep edge on one side, this makes it a perfect buffalo jump.

An Aboriginal person dressed in skins with the intent to blend in with the near by herd of bison.

This is the entrance way into the valley.

Far in the distance is a circle of teepee's, the traditional housing of the Plains Indians. This is a relatively small grouping of teepees. In each tribe their would be anywhere from 50 to upwards of 400 hundred teepees. Teepees are not only practical housing for their lifestyle it is also very effective at being warm in the harsh winters and cool in the hot summers.

Steve running with the buffalo.....he's not going to win.

Some traditional Cree stories tell of buffalo springing from stones and filling the plains.

Steve acting like a stereotypical Chief......


This is a very small teepee.....made that way for an indoor display. Most teepee's were made of about 15-20 buffalo hides. They were not any bigger because they had to transport them when they followed the buffalo herds.......and they weren't any smaller because, well they had to house families.


Steve dressed in a small buffalo hide.

*sigh* me looking really impressed.....I think Steve said something that I either thought was way off base or just Steve like.


Steve in front of a buffalo pound. This is and other way to hunt bison. The hunters would make a large pen of trees from the area. They would start the herd stampeding towards the pound with barriers on either side (large heaps of stones or outriders to discourage the buffalo from that particular path). Once inside the pound (they would have a sort of curd gate or ramp leading into the pound) they could start killing the buffalo with considerable less chance of harm.


This is Steve heading up to the famous "I got attacked by a hawk" site. I think this has got to be in his top 5 things that he did/happened while he was in Canada. He is on his way up to a rubbing stone.

Looks like a pleasant view? This is about 5 minutes outside of where I live. This is also at the very top of the ridge I previously mentioned. Hunters would stampede the buffalo towards this point. They would not be able to see the steepness of the ridge until they were upon it, and at that point they have the pressure of the herd coming after them so they can't stop. The buffalo would fall and either die upon contact or be severally hampered by their wounds that, yet again, would lower the chance of injury to the hunters.

This is a shot of the visitor's center from the valley.

The sunsets here are amazing.



This is a rubbing stone, so named because when buffalo had itches they would rub up against these stones. Over time they have become worn down and smooth in some parts due to the constant use.