Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Alberta
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre, located 165 kilometres
south of Calgary and 18 kilometres north and west
of Fort Macleod, is one of the best preserved and
oldest buffalo jumps in North America. By virtue of this fact, along with
the excellent interpretive centre on its site,
Head-Smashed-In has been designated a
World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The interpretive center documents the buffalo
hunting culture of the Plains Indians from their beginnings until the
arrival of the Europeans.
At a buffalo jump, the Indians would panic a herd of buffalo into a stampede.
Members of the tribe forced the herd to follow a path that ended a cliff. The
buffalo, now in blind panic, would simply run right off the edge of the
cliff, killing themselves in the fall. Head-Smashed-In (supposedly) gets its
name from the story of an Indian brave who wished to witness the plunging
buffalo from under the shelter of a ledge under the cliff. An unusually
beautiful day caused the pile of dead buffalo to reach higher than expected,
crushing the brave against the cliff. When the rest of the tribe came to
butcher the buffalo, they found the brave with his head smashed in, crushed
by the weight of the buffalo.
The site features an impressive interpretive center, complete with a 80 seat
theatre which features a 10 minute film recreating a buffalo hunt. Interpretive
guides are employed to share information about Indian culture with the visitors.An archeological site exists where the Indians processed the buffalo meat, where
scientists are trying to learn more about the natives and their culture.
More information about the site and tour reservations can be obtained by
writing Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Box 1977, Fort Macleod, Alberta,
T0L 0Z0, or by phoning (403) 553-2731.
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