Yvonne Jeffery , For the Calgary Herald; CanWest News Service
Bonnie Moffet uses her stout walking staff to point toward one of the stick figures carved into the sandstone cliff that is radiating heat out into the prairie afternoon.
"Don't touch the cliff, but look closely," she says. "Can you see the pink?" I hold my breath and lean in. Sure enough, the rectangular torso of the centuries-old petroglyph, or rock carving, shows a faint rose tinge that's just different enough from the stone to show up, even in the sunlight that's baking southern Alberta's Milk River Valley.
It's likely red ochre -- made by mixing crushed iron ore with water or bison fat -- and used to paint the rock art here, carved up to 3,500 years ago primarily by the Blackfoot people.
That it still exists, even in a faint echo of its original hue, is a trick of the dry climate, a protective overhang, and the provincial government's designation of Writing-on-Stone, 50 years ago, as a provincial park.
At the opening last month of the park's first permanent interpretive centre -- an environmentally low-impact building incorporating natural lighting, local stone and water conservation techniques -- politicians, architects and archeologists mingled with park staff, First Nations representatives in full regalia, and ranchers in sweat-stained cowboy hats.
Leather, linen and feathers symbolized eloquently those who, over the decades, have helped to protect this special place -- the largest concentration of rock art anywhere on the North American plains, now an archeological preserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Historic Site. Moffet, who heads up the interpreters, is in her 15th season of guiding visitors here.
She can name the orange-scarlet mallow that blooms amid the spiky prairie grass in this arid region, and tell you how the glaciers melted so rapidly 10,000 years ago that meltwaters carved the coulees through which the Milk River now flows.
She even has a provincial licence to study her "little friends," the elusive prairie rattlesnakes that are an integral part of this grassland ecosystem.
Most of all, Moffet offers an insight into the lives of those who turned this valley into Aisinai-pi, or "where the drawings are." "The Blackfoot have used this valley for a very long time," she explains, adding that other groups were here as well, including the Cree, Assiniboine, Gros Ventre and Shoshone. "It's known that this area was used for hunting for up to 10,000 years," she says.
Her wooden staff points from figure to figure, her words giving life to the pictures etched into the cliffs. Warriors holding large round shields were likely carved before the coming of the horse around 1736, she explains, because those shields were too big to be used on horseback. An arc of radiating lines around a person indicates an aura of power. Animals that first appeared with canoe-shaped bodies eventually became more stylized.
Moffet then asks our small group to look away from the cliffs, across the valley to the once-volcanic Sweetgrass Hills rising in the distance. Despite whisky traders and the North West Mounted Police, the valley has maintained its timeless appearance. "This is how the Blackfoot knew it," she says. Meadowlarks dip and dive above the tall grass, and a warm breeze brushes our faces with the scent of sage.
Then Moffet sums up the intention at the very heart of Alberta's provincial park system, a combination of preservation, recreation and heritage. "Our wish here is not just to talk about rock art and rock art preservation," she says. "It's to share with people the fragility of this place . . . and to change attitudes forever toward First Nations people."
IF YOU GO:
- Getting there: Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is approximately 45 minutes south of Lethbridge, just 10 kilometres north of the Alberta-Montana border. It offers day-use picnic areas and camping ($20-$25) on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are also B&Bs in the area, or you could stay in Lethbridge.
- Exploring: Start with the park's new interpretive centre, for context and to book tickets for walking tours (two hours, $25 per family, running until early September). There's also the 2.5-km Hoodoo Trail, a free, self-guided interpreted trail that includes the park's largest petroglyph (the Battle Scene), plus boating and back-country hiking.
Source:
http://www.canada.com/topics/travel/story.html?id=ea03b99a-ff64-4368-8e57-b1fc0e2e4ace
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