Medicine wheels, mysterious remnants of original people

Alberta

Guide to Indian Country Page 8

Almost 15,000 hectares near the small prairie community of Rumsey will

soon receive protected status under the Environmental Protection

Department's Special Places 2000 program. The land, vegetation, also

contains several pre-historic archeological sites, evidence of early

settlement and use by Plains Indians people.

The stone structures at Rumsey are just a fraction for the tens of

thousands of archeological sites in Alberta. Stone tipi rings,

ceremonial circles, cairns and ancient animal remains dot the prairie

landscape. On a high ridge in the Crowsnest Pass, worked over deposits

of chert--a stone prized for making arrowheads and other tools--show

signs of having been used by prehistoric hunters. On mountain tops and

canyon walls, rock art tells undeciphered stories of past cultures.

Gerry Ward, with Alberta Community Development, estimated that

archeologists have only looked at five per cent of the prehistoric

evidence in the province, but already there are about 25,000 sites on

record. Only a few of these sites, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump and

Writing-On-Stone, for example, have been designated for special

protection. But all archeological and historical artifacts in the

province are given some protection by the Historical Resources Act,

passed in 1973 through the environment conservation authority.

The act prohibited the unauthorized collection or disturbance of all

antiquities, with penalties of up to a year' imprisonment, a $50,000

fine, or both. It also required all road, mining or building developers

to submit plans to the province's archeological survey. If

archeological sites are known to exist in the area slated for

development, even if there is good potential for there being such sites,

the developer is required to hire expert consultants to examine the

impact of their plans on the resource.

Depending on the significance of the site, the finds must at least be

accurately recorded. Where the artifacts are considered highly

significant, the development plans must be modified and can even be

stopped entirely.

"In a sense," Ward said, "every site is protected, but in reality, we

can only concentrate on large-scale developments. We have to depend on

the public's cooperation to protect the other remains."

Ward said that the highest level of protection the government affords

is designation of a site as a provincial historic resource. Only about

a dozen areas which have Aboriginal artifacts have so far received this

designation. All known sites, however, are registered with Alberta

'public lands' on their computer data base.

"The isolation of many of the smaller sites is probably their best

protection," Ward added. "The Majorville Medicine Wheel, for example,

lies on private land and is almost impossible to get to unless you know

exactly where it is and how to get there. The land owner there has also

put up a fence around the site and we've added an interpretive sign."

Little known by the general public, the Majorville Medicine Wheel is

one the of the most significant archeological finds in the province. A

central cairn of stones, about 8.5 m across, is surrounded by a circle

of stones over 24 m in diameter. Twenty eight rock spokes link the

cairn to the outside circle. The building of the central cairn is

believed to have been started 4,500 years ago, with successive

prehistoric peoples adding to the structure through the years.

Many theories have been evolved to explain the significance of medicine

wheels, though the name alone implies that they had religious

significance for the people who build them. Similar structures built in

the early part of this century commemorate the burial places of noted

warriors or chief. Several of the structures appear to be giant

astronomical calendars, indicating the alignment of the stars and the

summer solstice.

Scientists also believe that some of the giant circles may have been

built as part of ceremonies to ensue the fertility of the uffalo herds

or success in hunting.

More than 60 medicine wheels have so far been discovered in Alberta,

including a few built in this century. In fact, there is a medicine

wheel in the Rumsey area, though its site was not included in the lands

designated as a special place.

In southern Alberta, on a hilltop near the Little Bow River, there is

another significant medicine wheel. The central cairn of this Sundial

Medicine Wheel has been scattered and looted, but its basic form is

still discernible. Here the cairn is surrounded by two concentric

circles, split at one space to form a path-like opening. More than 200

tipi rings and another 200 individual cairns attest to the long use of

this site.

Though visits to these sites, with a few exceptions, are not being

encouraged, they are generally open to the public. Recent offerings of

tobacco, cloth and sweetgrass can be seen at many of the sites and, of

course, these too shouldn't be touched.

"Many of these sites are still sacred places to Native people in

Alberta," said Rod Vickers, acting director of Plains Indian Archeology

at the Provincial Museum of Alberta. "I've sometimes left offerings of

tobacco myself, just because it seems appropriate."

Should you find an archeological site or an artifact, don't disturb the

ground or materials on it in any way. As soon as possible, report your

finding to the Archeological Survey of Alberta in Edmonton at

(403)427-2355.