Head Smashed In is a World Heritage Site in Alberta in the grassland plains just east of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and about 30 miles north of Waterton Lakes National Park, so it was easily my next stop on my way to Banff and Lake Louise. I spent the night in a nearby town and was out here by 10:30 am the next morning. There were only two big problems: 1) It was 90 degrees outside, and 2) There was a hill you had to walk up from the parking lot to the entrance.
I was told there used to be a shuttle, but it was defunded recently. They gave me a card of the facility administrator and suggested I write a letter or email. I passed that on to several other older, red-faced and huffing and puffing seniors who were trying to get up the hill. It was possible for someone to drop you off at the top, but they had to take the car back down and hike up themselves, which some people were not able to do.
Anyway, I enjoyed the several hours I spent in this museum, especially at the end talking to the elderly native American who was acting as a host for the site. He said he was from the Peigan tribe, which was part of the Blackfoot Confederation of Tribes. Interesting stories of his time at a residential school and his childhood at his parents ranch on the reservation before they had running water or electricity. He said his mother was so afraid of the new electricity and light bulbs that she refused to use them for quite a while.
Fantastic views from the entrance patio area.
The building is built on a hill with an entrance and elevators at this level.
A close-up of the entrance logo.
The easiest way to see the museum is to take the elevators to the top and exit the top door to the walkway along the top of the cliff to the buffalo jump.
You can only walk about 700' to the viewing platform. The actual buffalo jump is just past this. A buffalo jump was an alternate way to kill a lot of buffalo instead of chasing them down and using spears or bows and arrows. There are buffalo jumps all over North America, and basically they were a cliff and a series of stone cairns that could be used to funnel a herd of stampeding animals and forcing them to jump off a cliff to their deaths.
This jump was used off and on for 5,000 years, but was discontinued when Native peoples obtained horses and guns, which made the hunts easier.
A buffalo jump was usually used in the fall and required several tribes or family groups to participate. Younger men found a buffalo herd, and slowly worked them toward the jump. Others hid behind stone cairns, and waved branches or blankets to keep the animals moving and stampeding towards to actual jump. The herd could not turn around because of others behind them, so were forced to jump. Other tribesmen were at the bottom to finish off buffalo who were not quite dead, and women had fires prepared to process and cook the meat, and to dry much of it for the rest of the year.
Bones were left at the base of the cliff, and in this jump, they were at least 40-50' deep.
A map showed a mountain in the distance and another jump that was used in the distance.
Back into the museum and several rooms with displays of artifacts.
Good day, but I am glad it is going to be a lot cooler tomorrow and the rest of this week.
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