Wild West meets tranquil getaway

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"Share the natural beauty of our home" is the theme of the Silver Birch Resort, located on the shores of Whitefish Lake on the Kikino Metis Settlement, an hour-and-a-half drive northeast of Edmonton.

The staff at Silver Birch is well known for the warm welcome they extend to guests. They go out of their way to make the campgrounds and beach area family friendly. The resort has campground attendants on duty 24 hours a day during the peak season (May long weekend to September long weekend).

The jewel in the crown of Silver Birch Resort are four rustic log cabins on the beach that feature all the comforts of home. The cabins are heated by propane furnaces and have kitchenettes, running water, bathrooms with showers, bedroom lofts, covered decks, and barbecue pits. The cabins are fully winterized and are available for rent year-round.

The camping area has 29 campsites with power and 23 without power, plus an overflow camping area. A centrally-located shower and bathroom facility is available to all campers and day users of the beach.

The resort also has a convenience store and gas bar for those items campers forget to bring along on their holidays.

Activities at the resort include excellent fishing for pike, perch and pickerel, as well as boating, swimming, beach volleyball, excellent bird watching with a wide variety of species in the area, and hiking on trails along the lakeshore and through the boreal forest. Some regular visitors to the resort bring their horses and camp in a special area that is "horse friendly," with grazing areas and extensive riding trails along the lakeshore and in the backcountry.

The highlight of summer activities at Silver Birch is the annual rodeo, one of the biggest in rural Alberta. The rodeo and Kikino Celebration Days are set for Aug. 10, 11 and 12 this year.

Silver Birch Resort was opened in 1995 and has been certified by the Wildrose Tourism Association since 1995. It is open year-round, and the fully winterized cabins are an attraction for ice-fishing or snowmobile winter getaways.

For reservations and information phone (780) 623-3252

Largest tipi in the world guards against loss of culture

Kenton Friesen, Sweetgrass Writer, Medicine Hat Alberta

The world's largest tipi juts into the Medicine Hat skyline like a sentinel. It guards against the loss of Aboriginal history and serves as a constant reminder of a simpler life on the prairies. On a clear night the structure can be seen from miles away.

Rising 58 metres from its concrete base, the 800-metric-ton Saamis tipi stands about as high as a 20-storey apartment building. It contains 10 story-boards, each designed by different Aboriginal artists. The story-boards explain the legend of how Medicine Hat got its name, what effect the arrival of the Europeans had on Native culture, as well as other stories, including that of the circle of unity.

The structure was originally constructed in Calgary for the 1988 Winter Olympics. When the Games were over, a Medicine Hat businessman, Rick Flanti, purchased the tipi and brought it to the town as a favor to the community, said site general manager Robert Desjarlais.

A new shell was constructed and the weight-bearing poles were modified, leaving only about 10 per cent of the original tipi intact.

A tipi village is found close to the massive tipi and a buffalo herd wanders in a field nearby. Completing the journey into the past is an archeological dig where many small artifacts like arrowheads have been found.

"We're close to a ravine here that was used as a buffalo jump. They had set up camp there and there is lots of archeological things that were found," said Desjarlais.

Staff guides take pleasure in treating visitors to free tours of the attractions. Buses loaded with Europeans often stop for a visit and local students enjoy history classes when touring through the site. The importance of the buffalo and the subtle meanings of the tipi paintings are brought to life. The tour are a good mixture of fun and mental stimulation.

This summer there's increased organization and more guides, making the attraction substantially better than ever before, said Robert Anderson, one of the artists who created a story-board. He took almost two years to research his story-board, talking to Elders and getting everything right.

Most days Anderson, who is Metis with a Cree background, can be found on site building tipis. His lodge pine and canvas structures are for sale and can be custom painted to a buyer's specifications.

"Being an artist, this is a dream come true," said Anderson. When tourists come by they often ask him about the tipis and paintings and he is able to share pieces of his Native culture with the world.

If a tipi is not the heart's desire, there is a wide variety of smaller traditional Native items available at the gift shop.