# 9 Wanuskewin Heritage Park Saskatoon

#9  Saskatoon Heritage Site

Did you know that a Saskatoon is a berry suitable for pies?  Haven’t found any yet, but that is what google says.

Before we toured, Derrille walked his 4 miles and completed his daily mat exercises.  Then we set out for the Wanuskewin Heritage Park.  The cultural park lies a little bit north of Saskatoon.

The park receptionist wore a stunning, native attire.  She was a bit rattled.  Apparently her day had not gone well, including a visitor getting a tick bite. You will see her dancing later.

 She highly recommended bug repellent, which I had in the car.  So we returned to the car and sprayed down.  Bugs rarely bother Derrille, but they love me!  I had to even reapply during our walk. Also so this car and chuckled!

 

These sculptures begin your introduction to the center.  We were amazed that a bull buffalo led the trio of bison. We know from other sites that the herd always follows the alpha female.

The Heritage center includes meeting rooms, a gift shop, café, and a couple of rooms that are under construction. The center sits on one bluff.

 Four trails guide visitors through the park.

Loop one begins with a grouping of canvas tepees.  Their wooden bases with a fire pit in the middle looked like they were set up for instruction. 

I didn’t know that popular trees could predetermine the weather, and that hours before it rains their leaves flip upside down.

 Our next stop offered us new information too.  The remnants of a bison corral told of how tribes drove the bison into these corrals or pounds built to hold them, and then killed what they needed.

We knew about buffalo jumps, where herds are driving off a high cliff by hunters on the cliff.  Herds follow the alpha female.  Their poor eyesight hides the edge of cliff and they go over creating a super meat market below.  Any bison still alive is quickly put out of pain by the hunters.  Every member of the tribe has a job. The women and children below take care of the carcasses using every part of the bison. The hunters on the top turn the herd from the cliff, when they know they have enough meat for the season.

This park has two bison jumps.  They made a total of two jumps each year. This jump did not look as straight a fall as others we have visited.  But it may have grown up over time.

The first loop also leads to an active archeological site.  A group of students were involved with learning the skills needed to contribute to a dig. We saw them later by the center discussing today’s work.

The Heritage site covers acres of beautiful property. The property includes two bluffs with a lush valley below.  A creek meanders through the valley. 

The second loop wound through the valley.  A few reader boards offered very general information about the area.   Having visited many similar sites in our travels, we felt they missed an opportunity to be fully educational. There is significantly more information about tribal life that could be added to Loop #2.  The staff seems to do more with visiting school children, so maybe they don’t feel the need to add reader boards.

Juniper Flats was a highly used campground.  For us, we just enjoyed our 40 minute stroll through the valley, across little bridges and around ponds.  We were also thankful for bug repellant and the wind as we did not travel this path alone.

Part way through the valley a sign indicated Loop 3. Rickety wooden steps, some broken away climbed the side of the cliff. A sign stated climb at your own risk, renovations are coming. If you dared the climb visitors could see a rock that bison used as a scratching post and up on top where they grazed.  For me…..basically a klutz at times….not a good choice!  We decided to pass on Loop 3.  The photo is taken across the valley.  Note the little wiggly path up the other side was Loop 3 to the top of the bluff.

As our loop climbed out of the valley on the bluff opposite Loop 3 we met the path to Loop 4. This last loop heads out across the prairie for quite a ways.  We could have viewed a medicine wheel, which we have seen before in Wyoming and a couple of other things.  We decided it wasn’t worth the walk and we wanted to see the Native dancing at 2 pm.   So we enjoyed the view of the river from ups her and opted to head back.

The bison display inside the center was very information.  I had hoped to photograph all the information describing how every part of the bison was used. Unfortunately it did not photograph well with all the glass and reflections.  Liked the bison! 

The typical native costumes hung from the ceiling.

We got seated just before 2 pm. For those of you who understand Native Cultures, time schedules hold no relevance, and are only approximations.  That plus a sound system issue put the show starting around 2:15 ish.  The young lady we met at the desk now described the history and importance of the dances. She demonstrated the steps first then performed them to music.

She danced in a “jingle dress” that makes a tinkling rain every time she moves. The dresses and their dances are used to promote physical and mental healing. We kept our eyes glued to her light and quick steps. I don't know if the video will load...hope so.

Four schools were in the audience and she interacted with the kids.  I was pleased to see a teacher in excellent control of her groups, after the poorly conducted field trip in Battleford.

The high school kids were playing a game of trying to move a stick around the circle by only using their necks.  It was fun to watch.

We enjoyed our 3 hours in the valley.

After a fuel stop at Burger King we proceeded to the University again.  After some wrong turns and interesting sight we found the Diefenbaker Building.  We haven’t decided if this small gallery was built as a tribute to a great Canadian mover and shaker by admirers, or if Diefenbaker created it as a tribute to himself.  Hmmm  We spent an hour here.

John Diefenbaker had a vision for Canada to become One Canada.  He started as a lawyer, worked his way up the political scene to eventually become Prime Minister. He did profess several ideas that I agreed with.   Pictures show him with Queen Elizabeth and Phillip, Eisenhower, who he liked, and Kennedy who he didn’t.

 One of his accomplishments helped implement a law in 1958 that allowed First Nation people to vote without having to give up their treaties.  He had a Native man serve on his cabinet for two years who wasn’t allowed to vote.

Diefenbaker was given honorary war bonnets.  I found the colors interesting.  Maybe modern headdresses use the bright feather colors.  I think he was quite proud of these.

This typewriter was interesting to view.  Now rare, this typewriter is formed for the Inukitut syllabic language. The Inukitut Cultural Institute adopted this alphabet as a co-official script to English in 1976. Other Inukitut artifacts are included with the typewriter.  An ulu knife, a pana or snow knife to cut blocks of snow and a soapstone carving.  I have an ulu knife and use it regularly to cut food.

The Prime Minister’s East Block Office 1957-1963 and the council chambers.

We have spent several days pretty much alone on the prairie roads. A rush hour traffic jam reminded us of big city happenings. Fortunately nice drivers let us cut across lanes when we found ourselves in the wrong place, and we got home safely. 

We arrived home in the sunshine and blue skies.

About 7:30 pm thunder rolled across the prairie with loud, booming claps. Lightening spears shot directly down from the sky to the ground! Then the rain started to drip, intensifying to a relentless pounding on our metal roof.  We needed to conclude phone calls because the din was too loud to hold a conversation.  The distinct sound of pelting hailstones plummeted against the RV and the top of our car. We couldn’t even carry on a conversation between us. Glad to be inside.

Derrille read his book on the couch. Then felt rain splashing on his feet.  Once again rain dripped out of an AC vent, this time in the front room.  We will have to all of the ACs looked at when we get back to the states.  Jordan had also noted that both bathroom vents were not correctly sealed, so the rain came in there too. We put out buckets to collect the water. 

The storm raged until 11:30. Then suddenly quiet descended on the prairie, except for a coyote’s cry into the night. The storm passed and the rain inside stopped.

 Remember:  RVing is an adventure!  I took the photos the next day, when the sun returned.