Features Listed by Theme: First Nations Activity

Sites

Yellow Quill Trail – still visible
The Yellow Quill trail is still visible in this location.
Bison Rubbing Stone - Chain Lakes
A bison rubbing stone north of the Chain Lakes
Bison Rubbing Stone - Pierson
A bison rubbing stone south of Pierson.
Tipi Rings and Crossing
Early cultures used this place as a stopping place and ceremonial center. It was a convenient place to cross the Long River.
Whitewater Lake
Whitewater Lake was an important natural feature to yesterday's earliest peoples and provides a safe haven for today's birds and wildlife.
Yellow Quill Trail Continues
Yellowquill Trail continues west from this point. It meets up with the Carleton Trail at present-day Portage la Prairie.
Assiniboine Tents
(1738) La Verendrye was the first European to cross the plains and in 1738 he came across a collection of 101 Assiniboine tents along Cherry Creek.
Boundary Trail Visible - Sourisford
(1873) The Boundary Commissioner Trail is still visible in this location. It is used by a local farmer to run cattle down to the Souris River.
Brockinton Site
(800 – 1600 AD) During this site's earliest occupation, it was used as a bison pound.
Buck's Hill: Dakota-Assiniboine Battle
(1820s and 1830s) The Dakota and Assiniboine met in this region for a battle.
Dakota – Assiniboine Battle
(1849) A battle between the Dakota and Assiniboine occurred on this site.
Dakota – Assiniboine Battle: Napinka
(1830) A battle between the Dakota and Assiniboine occurred northeast of present-day Napinka in 1830.
Dakota-Assiniboine Battle - Souris River
(1793) The Dakota were opposed to the fur trade in the Souris basin and wanted the Assiniboine to stop trading with the fur traders. During a battle held in this approximate location, the Dakota wiped out an entire Assiniboine village.
Dakota Camp after the Battle of Little Bighorn
(1876) After the Battle of Little Bighorn in South Dakota, the victorious Dakota camped temporarily on the western end of Turtle Mountain in Canada.
Dand Stone Features
A collection of puzzling stone features found at this site defy easy definition.
DhMg-86
(800 AD) A small surface collection from the Besant-Sonota culture was recovered at this site.
Feland Site
(~1370AD) A Northeastern Plains village is thought to have been located here.
First Nations Occupation
The remains of a large First Nations occupation were found here, including human bones and flint artifacts. Date unknown.
Gros Ventre Village
(1812) A First Nations village once existed at the intersection of the South Antler and Souris Rivers.
Lauder Sandhills
(10,000 BC - Present) The unique environment provided by the Lauder Sandhills attracted bison, which appealed to the early peoples who came to camp and live there.
Mandan-Assiniboine Battle
(1780) Spurred on by the Dakota, the Mandans waged several battles against the Assiniboine. This was closely following the dissolution of an alliance between the Mandan and the Assiniboine.
Mandan-Hidatsa Village: Molander Site
(1780-1845) The site of an earthenlodge village belonging to either Mandan or Hidatsa existed on this site. Mandan villages along the Missouri River were connected to Canadian fur trading posts via the Mandan Trail.
Mandan Trail Viewpoint
Take in a gentle view over the prairie towards Whitewater Lake from a point on the now obliterated Mandan Trail.
Mandan Village: Double Ditch Site
(1500-1781) The ruins of a large Mandan village exists at this site. Remains of earthlodges, refuse mounds and two surrounding ditches are clearly discernible. Mandan villages were connected to Canadian fur trading posts via the Mandan Trail.
Mandan Village: Menoken Site
(1100-1845) At this site is a prehistoric earthlodge village surrounded by a large fortification ditch with four clearly defined bastions. Mandan villages along the Missouri River were connected to Canadian fur trading posts via the Mandan Trail.
McBurney Site – Trading Post
The site of an old trading post. Artifacts such as musket balls, trading beads, broken dishware, a rusty knife and some native artifacts were turned up here as a result of cultivation.
Medicine Wheel
A Medicine Wheel sits here on the edge of the Souris River Valley.
Moncur Gallery – People of the Plains
The Moncur Gallery contains over 1000 artifacts, most of which local historian Mr. Bill Moncur picked up out of his field.
Mullett Site
(1500 BCE – 750 AD) A bison kill and processing site on the bank of the Souris.
Proboscidean Tusk
The ancient fossilized mammoth or mastodon tusk found at this site dates back over 33,000 years.
Skull Swamp
Skull Swamp is an example of the ingenuity possessed by post glacial societies in their bison hunting techniques and how they used the existing landscape to their advantage.
Snyder Dam Site
(800 AD) A brief excavation at this site uncovered two of the most complete Sonota/Besant vessels recovered in Western Canada.
Snyder II Site
(1610 +/- 130) Excavations at this site lend considerable weight to the idea of pre-European horticultural activity in south-west Manitoba
Sourisford
A long history surrounds this Souris River crossing place. Where the Boundary Commission Trail crossed the river is still visible.
Sourisford Linear Burial Mounds
(900 – 1400 AD) Artifacts from these thousand year-old burial mounds indicate the trade relations that existed upon the plains before convenient modes of transportation.
Tipi Ring
Several tipi rings on this site suggest a First Nations camp was once located here.

Routes

Boundary Commission Trail
(Pre 1600 - 1885) The Boundary Commission Trail was the first “highway” to the west, carrying First Nations to and fro, Métis on buffalo hunts and finally Europeans looking for rich farmland.
Mandan Trail
The Mandan Trail was a primary artery of travel and trade between the Assiniboine River Forts and the Missouri River where the Mandan First Nations lived.
Yellow Quill Trail
(Pre 1790 - 1886) The Yellow Quill Trail began as a trade route used by First Nations but served as a convenient avenue of travel for pioneering Europeans as well.

Areas

Turtle Mountain Reserve IR60
(1877 – 1913) Dakota Chief H'Damani convinced the government to grant him and his band a square mile of land on the slopes of Turtle Mountain – the smallest First Nation's Reserve in Canada.