The Landscape of Indigenous History

Kaitlyn Parks

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Learning Task #1

University of Calgary
Kaitlyn Parks
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 Kaitlyn Parks
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The pictures above were taken at Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump - in Blackfoot estipah-sikikini-kots meaning

‘where he got his head smashed in’ – it is a World Heritage Site (WHS), which I had the opportunity to visit

over this past summer (Louis. 2004).

A cultural landscape, such as the one above, exemplifies how places can have tangible and intangible values

integrated, where cultural and natural characteristics are subject to change over time and place, and where

people and places are interconnected. They are places characterized by use and continuity. Leroy Little Bear

highlighted the idea of a cyclical and holistic view of the world, since all things are in constant motion or flux

(2000). This concept was expanded upon to explain the patterns we see, acknowledge that everything has spirit

and knowledge, and all these happenings are readily observable on land. Everything conspired at Head

Smashed-In to make the jump work. The social organization of the Indigenous people, combined with their

intimate knowledge of animal behavior and the site’s natural features, turned the entire landscape into a natural

buffalo kill site. Their familiarity with the geography, with the climate and the weather patterns, is symbolized

by Head Smashed-In – a perfect adaptation of communal hunting techniques to a unique environment (Alberta

Historic Resources Management, 1980). During class discussions and further readings, the importance of

learning from the land has been stressed. This particular WHS is passive in its learning, however, after viewing

the displays inside, it was very easy to visualize the hunt when you went outside.

These photos go beyond showing the importance of learning from the land; they now also represent a metaphor.

Canada has a rich cultural history, which is mostly characterised by the ‘Mounties’, however there is much

more to our history than that. As mentioned, this WHS emphasizes the way of life that occurred over many

years for Indigenous people. They strategically organized and planned the hunt using the cliff, killed the buffalo

for a purpose, and then covered up the remains to prepare for future hunts. After gaining a more in depth

perspective about residential schools, it seems like something similar occurred. The white people strategically

ordered all Indigenous children to attend residential school, they were forced to go and had no choice, this
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caused major physical and mental abuse lasting for generations because of what happened at the schools, and

then Canada tried to ignore and bury that atrocious part of our nation’s past since it was never taught

extensively in schools. Running the buffalo off the cliff was a way of life for Indigenous people and the buffalo

gave them plenty of sustenance. Ultimately, the buffalo numbers decreased drastically due to the amount being

killed. Forcing Indigenous children into school was for the benefit of the white people as the children were

slaves within the schools. Ultimately, the purpose for taking these children was to rid the land of ‘savages’ and

assimilate them into white culture, and therefore killing off the Indigenous people.

This WHS is still used for archeological purposes to gain a deeper insight into the past, and I believe Canada is

just now acknowledging this past, and peeling back the layers of what happened for many years to understand

the whole picture. We need to understand the whole story before we can begin reconciling our wrongs. The

movie, We Were Children, represented only two stories from residential schools, both were similar in terms of

treatment, but by no means are they the same. We cannot lump every residential school memory into a single

story as that has detrimental effects. Each individual has their own story that we can all learn from, everyone

brings a new perspective to the table.

Schissel and Wotherspoon (2003. p. 38) stated the following “Nonetheless, the overall impact of residential

schooling, hidden until recently in denial, isolation, or sublimated memories, has been highly destructive for

individuals, their families, and Aboriginal communities in general. By focusing on a few success or good

stories, the social commentators/historians who cast a positive light on residential schooling either miss or fail

to acknowledge the socio-economic froes that continue to put aboriginal people in their ‘place’.” This quote

speaks volumes to me as it stresses the fact that if we ignore the voices that are the most damaged, then we are a

part of the problem and not the solution. It was not until 2008, when Stephen Harper, who was Prime Minister

at the time, issued an apology in regard to residential schooling in Canada. This was a step in the right direction,

however we have a long way to go.

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The images above also represent regrowth. At one time this land would have been run down and an appalling

sight after a hunt, but now it has new luscious growth. Forcing children into residential schools is an appalling

part of our history, however with reconciliation attempts now being made, we are trying to apologize for the

past and move forward by working together to educate people on this topic. There will always be remains left

over, but they are a piece of our history that we now have to comprehend and deal with.

Cultural landscapes, such as Head Smashed-In, contain illustrations of human activities over time which we can

all learn from. While cultural groups have modified the land where they live, the land has also influenced their

culture. Reflecting on the topics discussed throughout this course so far has highlighted the concern that we are

naïve, and unaware of the history that has occurred in regard to historical treatment of indigenous people. We

listened to the white man’s story, and ignored an entire perspective. The lessons that can be learned from

understanding our nation’s history are instrumental in education.

References

Alberta Historic Resources Management. (1980). Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Complex World Heritage

Nomination File. Edmonton: Alberta Community Development.

Lewis, J. E. (2004). The mammoth book of Native Americans. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf.
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Little Bear, L. (2000a). Jagged worldviews colliding. In Battiste, M. (Ed.), Reclaiming Indigenous voice and

vision, (pp. 77-85). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/lib/ucalgary-

ebooks/reader.action?ppg=108&docID=3245709&tm=1503510834180

Prime Minister Harper, Assembly of First Nations Chief P. Fontaine, Inuit Leader Mary Simon

(2008).[YouTube video] Canada’s National Apology:

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100015677/1100100015680

Schissel, B. & Wotherspoon, T. (2003). Chapter 3: Legacy of Residential Schools. In The Legacy of School for

Aboriginal People. Don Mills, ON: Oxford. [eBook full text online]

http://deslibris.ca.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/ID/432095