by Frank McTighe

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo

The interpretive centre at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is built into the sandstone cliffs.

Jump has an exciting schedule of events planned for 2002.

But you don’t have to wait for a special event to have an enjoyable day at the interpretive centre 18 kilometres north and west of Fort Macleod.

“This is a wonderful place to be,” manager Ian Clarke said. “It’s a wonderful place in which to contemplate.”

Jack Brink, one of the archeologists involved in development of the $10-million interpretive centre, agreed.

“For me, there is a magic to this place, a spirituality,” said Brink, curator of archeology at the Museum of Alberta.

Constructed in 1987 to blend into the sandstone cliffs, the interpretive centre tells the story of a buffalo jump that was used continuously for more than 5,500 by aboriginal peoples on the plains.

The interior of the interpretive centre, which is open year-round, is made up of five distinct levels depicting the ecology, mythology, lifestyle and technology of the Blackfoot within the context of available archaeological evidence.

The interpretive centre is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from May 15 to Sept. 14, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15 to May 14.

The special events calendar includes tipi camping on June 14-16, July 26-28 and Aug. 16-18. Guests can camp in a Blackfoot tipi overlooking the Oldman River under the shadow of the buffalo jump’s sandstone cliffs.

National Aboriginal Day will be celebrated June 21 with drumming, dancing, traditional games and guest speakers.

Every Wednesday from July 3 to Aug. 28 there will be demonstrations of native drumming and dancing at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

On Aug. 9, World Indigenous People’s Day will be celebrated with singing, drumming, dancing and an atlatl competition.

On Sept. 7 visitors can find out how arrowheads are made during the presentation titled Stones and Bones. Archaeologists will also be on hand to identify artifacts and projectile points brought by visitors.

Native drumming, dancing, singing and art is celebrated during the Heritage Through My Hands event on Nov. 16.

World Heritage Site

Peigan legend has it that a young Peigan brave stood under the cliff and watched the buffalo topple in front of him like a mighty waterfall.

When it was over and the natives were butchering the animals, they found him under the pile of dead buffalo with his head smashed in. Hence the name, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.
In the interpretive centre, visitors are introduced to Napi, or the Old Man. The Blackfoot say he is the mythical creator of people, but he is not equal to the Great Spirit, God.

At Napi’s World, Level 1, you may see a guide sit on a boulder and recount Napi legends. One story explains those scattered boulders you saw on the drive up.

At Level 2, Napi’s People, you will find a tipi and various tools. Don’t be afraid to touch them. This is not a museum, but an interpretive centre. Things are meant to be hands-on.

Level 3 is the Buffalo Hunt. It took up to 500 people to organize the yearly hunt. Several kilometres away from the top of the cliff, men covered in buffalo calf robes and wolf skins would lure the mostly-female herd closer to the cliff. It wasn’t a case of chasing them to the point of stampede, but just causing anxiety in the herd, so they’d keep looking at the leader and following her. They wouldn’t stampede the animals until they reached the small rise above the cliff. The meat, when dried, helped the people survive the long winter.

Also found on this level are a headdress display and one of a unique buffalo udder, donated by a local family.

Level 4 shows the contrast of cultures. For 5,700 years the buffalo jump was used by the Plains hunters, but the arrival of the horse in the mid-1700s signaled the beginning of the end to this traditional way of hunting buffalo. European settlement followed shortly there-after. Don’t miss the 10-minute movie, “In Search of the Buffalo” shown every half hour in the 80-seat theatre.

Level 5, Uncovering the Past, is the lowest level and the final chapter – the jump the way the archaeologists found it. Test your knowledge by trying to match buffalo bones to a full skeleton; or head for the computer to guess what the different tools were used for.

Once outside again, take a stroll on the lower trails where visitors are encouraged to walk down through the lower kill site beneath the buffalo

Traditional native dancing will be demonstrated every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. from July 3 to Aug. 28.

jump escarpment.

The centre, known as the world’s oldest and best preserved buffalo jump, was opened in 1987 by Prince Andrew and Lady Sarah, The Duke and Duchess of York.

The jump is a World Heritage Site, as are the pyramids in Egypt and the Taj Mahal in India. Well over 1,500,000 visitors, from all over the world, have toured the site.

To reach it, turn west onto Secondary Highway 785 (Spring Point Road) from Highway 2 at a point about 2.3 kilometres north of the intersection of Highways 2 and 3.

Large signs direct you to the road and smaller signs along the road tell you you’re on the right path.

A shuttle bus will take you from the parking area up to the interpretive centre.

For information call 403-553-2731 or visit the Web site at www.head-smashed-in.com.