If you’re visiting McCloud, Alberta for the either its fort, historic downtown, or Brokeback Mountain apartment photo (LOL), be sure to take a quick side trip to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre. It is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site and home of a museum of Blackfoot culture.
The buffalo jump was used for over 5,000 years by Native Americans living in the plains.
A well done movie and detailed displays at the visitor center describe the hunt as follows:
Prior to having horses, the people would drive the bison off the high cliffs by first creating “driving lanes” lined by hundreds of cairns. Then young men chosen to be “Buffalo runners” would first cleansed their bodies by bathing in the sweat lodge and rubbing themselves with herbs to remove mortal smells. Then they would dress up in the skins of coyotes and wolves to guide the bison into these driving lanes where other natives stood flapping skins to keep the bison on track. At a full gallop, the bison would fall 30 feet to the valley below being drive off the cliff by the weight of the herd pressing behind them. After falling, the injured bison were finished off by other Blackfoot warriors at the cliff base armed with spears and clubs. The carcasses were then processed at the camp set up at the foot of the cliffs. This area provided the people with everything they needed to process a bison carcass, including fresh water. Not only did the fall Buffalo hunt provide food and supplies to last the winter, but the jump allowed the people leisure time for art, family, friends, and spirituality.
Enjoyed this Native “American” history listen while in Canada.
