I recently attended a day-long educational aboriginal symposium in Saskatoon. After a variety of speakers and a delicious lunch, the group of attendees was taken mid afternoon to the north end of the city. We travelled by bus, past the outskirts another five kilometers to Wanuskewin Heritage Park.
Please feel free to visit their website at www.wanuskewin.com. The park is over 360 acres in breadth and the natural flora, fauna, herbs and rock formations remain all along the many scenic trails and sites of archaeological digs. The area is very near the Saskatchewan River and has the Cathedral Bluffs neighbourhood as their closest neighbour.
This display case of beautifully beaded men and women's clothing met us at the front door. The dress was typical of the Northern Plains Indians.
We were taken to a large room in the architecturally-unique interpretive centre and shown some very interesting footage about the origins of that sacred place. We were told that amazingly, aboriginal people had followed the buffalo to that same meeting place every year for over 6,000 years. Archaeologists have found artifacts as they dug down, layer by layer to prove it. They asked us to put that timeline into perspective. When you think of what a short time ago European colonialization really began....it was less than 200 years. That simple fact made me stop and think and I realized how short a lifetime really is. We were told of the seven First Nations that reside in Saskatchewan and were told their greetings: Tansi (Cree), Aninskwa (Saulteaux), Edlanete (Dene), doken ya un (Dakota), Toki I ya un (Nakota), toked ya un (Lakota), Oki (Blackfoot), and Hello (English). Incidentally, one of the conference speakers had welcomed us to the area of Treaty 6 earlier that day. Saskatoon is Treaty 6 for instance, while Yorkton, to the south is Treaty 4. Once introduced to the concept, you don't soon forget these things, but the second part of the tour made an even deeper impression on me.
The open flaps of the canvas at the top of the tipi are meant to signify the open arms of a woman and mother. The flaps can be opened or closed depending upon the time of day and weather. The front entrance is closed from the outside with a dozen or so sticks that are threaded each through two holes. They for all the world look like those coats that used to have buttons that looked like elephant tusks. The tipi poles for these particular tipis were approximately eight feet in length. There are bigger sizes in different areas of the country, but the reason the tipis were small here was because they had to be transported from place to place quickly and easily. They were made to accommodate the nomadic lifestyle involved with following the buffalo herds.
Having lived in Saskatchewan my whole life and knowing that the temperature in the winter can reach minus sixty degrees celsius, I am amazed that the people survived. If I get cold, all I have to do is turn up the thermostat in either the house, the car or the office. If it's bitterly cold, I don't spend much time outside. Life today has no resemblance to those harsher times. Sure, I've had frostbite if outside too long, but I can't imagine the wind whipping for days and weeks on end and having to huddle around a camp fire. I know the importance of physically moving your body, so I can't feature a life of months and months confined to an area where you couldn't really stand up and walk around.
I also cannot feature having a few rambunctious children spending a long, freezing cold winter in an area that was essentially 8 feet round. The interpreter at the centre told us of the many and very strict rules involved with living that way of life in a tipi. I can understand why there would be so many rules. At all costs, limits would have to be set and measures taken to strongly enforce survival of the fittest. Not knowing about the R factor warmth in buffalo hides and skins, perhaps I would have a different view if I did know. Buffalo, moose, deer, elk, wolf, coyote, birds etc. live outside in all types of weather, so there is obviously something to it.
Think of Buffalo, these massive creatures who roamed free all over the prairies for thousands of years and then suddenly came dangeroulsy close to extinction. We worry about hitting a moose with our vehicles, can you imagine hitting one of these beasts? First off, they look kind of cranky to me and their horns would be nothing to fool with. If their hides and furs could sustain the peoples' existence for so many millenia in Canadian extremes of weather, it's a tragedy that they no longer grace our wilds. We only see them today a few at a time roaming and grazing in game preserves and zoos. On the other hand, I can't imagine the panic I would feel if I was out picking berries and heard the distinctive hoof beats of a herd of these rampaging beasts coming my way!
There are two galleries at the centre filled with fabulous art and cultural artifacts. Below is a drum. The structure holding it appeared to be metal.
Please feel free to visit their website at www.wanuskewin.com. The park is over 360 acres in breadth and the natural flora, fauna, herbs and rock formations remain all along the many scenic trails and sites of archaeological digs. The area is very near the Saskatchewan River and has the Cathedral Bluffs neighbourhood as their closest neighbour.
This display case of beautifully beaded men and women's clothing met us at the front door. The dress was typical of the Northern Plains Indians.
We were taken to a large room in the architecturally-unique interpretive centre and shown some very interesting footage about the origins of that sacred place. We were told that amazingly, aboriginal people had followed the buffalo to that same meeting place every year for over 6,000 years. Archaeologists have found artifacts as they dug down, layer by layer to prove it. They asked us to put that timeline into perspective. When you think of what a short time ago European colonialization really began....it was less than 200 years. That simple fact made me stop and think and I realized how short a lifetime really is. We were told of the seven First Nations that reside in Saskatchewan and were told their greetings: Tansi (Cree), Aninskwa (Saulteaux), Edlanete (Dene), doken ya un (Dakota), Toki I ya un (Nakota), toked ya un (Lakota), Oki (Blackfoot), and Hello (English). Incidentally, one of the conference speakers had welcomed us to the area of Treaty 6 earlier that day. Saskatoon is Treaty 6 for instance, while Yorkton, to the south is Treaty 4. Once introduced to the concept, you don't soon forget these things, but the second part of the tour made an even deeper impression on me.
A young woman demonstrated hands-on how to construct a tipi. It was an amazing experience and I felt almost confident enough, when it was over, that I could build one myself if the opportunity ever arose. She was an amazing teacher and spoke so slowly, patiently and confidently. The poles are from plain old poplar trees, young, straight saplings with the bark peeled off. Each pole has a separate word and meaning attached to it. For instance, one of the poles is for respect, one for child rearing and like that. The tipi below is one that sits on display in the centre. Please note the rocks around the bottom are placed there specifically to keep out rodents and rain. I tried to take pictures of the inside of the tipi, but they really didn't turn out...too dark. The interior is small, but very cozy with a floor of lush, thick furs and room for an open fire in the middle. Where the poles criss-cross at the top is said to signify a place for an eagle to nest. The eagle has a place of importance in the world in part because it flies so high and sees so much. One of the most interesting aspects of the tipi is that it was totally the responsibility of the women. They put it up, took it down and carried it from place to place.
.The open flaps of the canvas at the top of the tipi are meant to signify the open arms of a woman and mother. The flaps can be opened or closed depending upon the time of day and weather. The front entrance is closed from the outside with a dozen or so sticks that are threaded each through two holes. They for all the world look like those coats that used to have buttons that looked like elephant tusks. The tipi poles for these particular tipis were approximately eight feet in length. There are bigger sizes in different areas of the country, but the reason the tipis were small here was because they had to be transported from place to place quickly and easily. They were made to accommodate the nomadic lifestyle involved with following the buffalo herds.
Having lived in Saskatchewan my whole life and knowing that the temperature in the winter can reach minus sixty degrees celsius, I am amazed that the people survived. If I get cold, all I have to do is turn up the thermostat in either the house, the car or the office. If it's bitterly cold, I don't spend much time outside. Life today has no resemblance to those harsher times. Sure, I've had frostbite if outside too long, but I can't imagine the wind whipping for days and weeks on end and having to huddle around a camp fire. I know the importance of physically moving your body, so I can't feature a life of months and months confined to an area where you couldn't really stand up and walk around.
I also cannot feature having a few rambunctious children spending a long, freezing cold winter in an area that was essentially 8 feet round. The interpreter at the centre told us of the many and very strict rules involved with living that way of life in a tipi. I can understand why there would be so many rules. At all costs, limits would have to be set and measures taken to strongly enforce survival of the fittest. Not knowing about the R factor warmth in buffalo hides and skins, perhaps I would have a different view if I did know. Buffalo, moose, deer, elk, wolf, coyote, birds etc. live outside in all types of weather, so there is obviously something to it.
Think of Buffalo, these massive creatures who roamed free all over the prairies for thousands of years and then suddenly came dangeroulsy close to extinction. We worry about hitting a moose with our vehicles, can you imagine hitting one of these beasts? First off, they look kind of cranky to me and their horns would be nothing to fool with. If their hides and furs could sustain the peoples' existence for so many millenia in Canadian extremes of weather, it's a tragedy that they no longer grace our wilds. We only see them today a few at a time roaming and grazing in game preserves and zoos. On the other hand, I can't imagine the panic I would feel if I was out picking berries and heard the distinctive hoof beats of a herd of these rampaging beasts coming my way!
A buffalo skull and horns is preserved under glass at the centre. Incidentally, Regina is the capital city of Saskatchewan and was originally called "pile of bones". I guess we can understand which animal bones they were thinking of.
There are two galleries at the centre filled with fabulous art and cultural artifacts. Below is a drum. The structure holding it appeared to be metal.
The item that follows appears to be perhaps where our modern day quilting got its start. Maybe not, but who knows....could be, couldn't it? The difference is that the cloth and thread is animal hide. The decorations are made from beads. Quite beautiful, precious and an indicator of ancient times that live on today. I have a pair of slippers made of these same materials. They are cool in the summer and warm in the winter...the best pair of slippers I have ever owned.
There is something so romantic about what went on in our land before we were ever born. We try to imagine it, but it's only in the last few decades that we are even beginning to understand how things evolved from then until now. I am proud of the first nations people and of our shared heritage. Aboriginal people are strong and resilient and we have so much more to learn from them if only we will take the time to listen.
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