Festival continues 10,000 years of tradition

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The History in the Hills event, which will take place at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park June 14 to 17, is about coming together, said an enthusiastic Amy Connachie, the cultural co-ordinator for Miywasin Society of Aboriginal Services in Medicine Hat.

The park, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, is a significant spot, said Connachie, because it was a gathering place for First Nations and later the Metis tribes in the early 1800s.

This will be the fourth year that the park is commemorating that fact with the History in the Hills celebration. The first followed an archaeological dig conducted by Dr. Gerry Oetelaar of the University of Calgary that uncovered First Nations artefacts dating back 10,000 years.

What makes the celebration unique is the opportunity for people to hear about Aboriginal culture and traditions through the words of Aboriginal peoples, said Connachie.

"It will be the history of Aboriginal people from the Aboriginal perspective," she said.

Telling their stories will be the Blackfoot, Cree and Nakoda/Assiniboine and Metis groups. The celebration is also unique in that it is a collaboration between a number of centres: Miywasin Society of Aboriginal Services, Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, Fort Walsh National Historic Site, Saamis Tepee Association, and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. Wanuskewin Heritage Park is the newest partner this year. All are bringing artefacts to share.

"It would have been a huge expense to bring in the interpreters and artefacts. We couldn't have done this without cost sharing and without the different centres bringing in their artefacts," said Connachie.

The celebration will kick off with three days of school tours. School groups are coming from as far away as Manitoba and British Columbia. The first year the event was held, students numbered 600; last year that number rose to 1,000. Connachie is expecting an even larger turnout this time around.

School groups have the opportunity to spend time at 10 different First Nations and Metis stations, as well as a station for the Northwest Mounted Police (who had a significant role with the Aboriginal people in the late 1800s). Each station will have an interpreter to carry out demonstrations and to explain their significance.

"For students, it's a way to get the idea of how First Nations people are connected but also distinctive," said Connachie.

Expanded from the first year's celebration is a day open to the public. Saturday was added in the second year of the event with 200 people in attendance. Last year that number doubled and this year Connachie is expecting public attendance figures to double again, this time to 1,000.

Students and public will also get to sample bannock, see tipi raising demonstrations, participate in Native games, watch a hide tanning demonstration, take in performances by Metis dancers, Native drummers and singers, learn Metis jigs and participate in a traditional Native round dance.

Events will get underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the finale to be held at 3 p.m.