Month: July 2015

Alberta’s New Heritage Marker – Raymond Stampede

editor, RETROactive

Visitors to this year’s Raymond Stampede got to learn more about the fascinating history of the event with the installation of the latest Alberta Historical Resources Foundation heritage marker. The marker details the history of the event – the first of its kind held in Alberta – dating back to 1902, when prominent rancher Raymond Knight decided to organize a skills competition for local cowboys and ranch hands. The success of the Raymond Stampede inspired the organization of similar events across Alberta, with a growing range of events and prizes that attracted more and more competitors. Held in dozens of communities across the province each year, rodeos have long been significant cultural events in Alberta that strongly reflect its great agricultural heritage.

Raymond Stampede's new heritage marker.
Raymond Stampede’s new heritage marker.

The marker was installed on June 25, 2015 at the site of the Stampede in Raymond Knight Memorial Park. The Town of Raymond applied for the development of the heritage marker through the Alberta Heritage Markers Program. The program was established in 1955 to promote greater awareness of the historic people, places, events, and themes that have defined the character of our province. The program brings Alberta’s dynamic history alive through heritage markers placed at roadside pullouts, within parks, and in other community locales.

Written by: Allan Rowe, Historic Places Research Officer

Tracking Ancient Connections: The Alberta Obsidian Project

Tracking Ancient Connections: The Alberta Obsidian Project

toddkristensen

Obsidian is a natural glassy rock that was produced by volcanoes and used by pre-contact people across North America for making stone tools. Obsidian is the sharpest naturally occurring substance on earth, which made it ideal for making tools such as arrowheads and knives that were designed to slice animal flesh. Many obsidian tools have been found in Alberta despite the fact that there are no natural sources of it in the province. This means that obsidian was traded or carried into Alberta from long distances away. Research on obsidian tools at archaeological sites in Alberta has been conducted on a small scale since the late 1980’s. The current Alberta Obsidian Project (AOP) is the first large-scale attempt to analyse our province’s obsidian; it began in 2014 when a research plan was developed by members of the Archaeological Survey of Alberta, the Royal Alberta Museum, and the Center of Applied Isotope Studies (CAIS) at the University of Georgia. Read more →

The Lost Islands of Upper Kananaskis Lake

rkelland

In 1917, surveyor and mountaineer Arthur O. Wheeler of the Interprovincial Boundary Survey wrote that “in a valley surrounded by towering peaks, lies Upper Kananaskis Lake, a large sheet of deep-blue water of irregular shape, dotted with heavily-timbered islands.” The lake, as described by Wheeler, no longer exists, its shape has changed and its islands are mostly gone.

1914 photograph of Upper Kananaskis Lake
Upper Kananaskis Lake, 1914, showing the islands (LtoR) Cressy, Pegasus, Hawke, Hogue, Schooner and Aboukir. To compare this photograph alongside a 2007 photograph, go to http://explore.mountainlegacy.ca/historic_captures/1880/comparisons.
Mountain Legacy Project, WHE14-6. The Mountain Legacy Project is based at the School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. For more information, go to mountainlegacy.ca, or email mntnlgcy@uvic.ca.

Read more →

Archaeological Survey Public Outreach and Research

courtneylakevold

HAS Slide 2014 edit

An important mandate of the Archaeological Survey section of the Historic Resources Management Branch is to undertake extra-regulatory public outreach projects and research initiatives. The staff at the Survey have been busy this last year pursuing this goal. Some of the projects and activities that have taken place, or are underway now, are highlighted below.

Part of this goal includes delivering programs that address Albertan’s desires to learn about their heritage and widen appreciation for Alberta’s archaeological resources. Youth outreach was done through the delivery of eight school programs to elementary and junior high school students. Darryl Bereziuk, Director of Archaeological Survey, and Blair First Rider, Aboriginal Consultation Adviser, presented to students at Leo Nickerson Elementary School in St. Albert; Todd Kristensen, Northern Archaeologist, presented to 6 classrooms as part of the U School Education Program at the University of Alberta; and Wendy Unfreed, Plains Archaeologist, participated in a youth apprenticeship field program for Dr. Swift Junior High School in Lac La Biche. Read more →

Happy Canada Day!

editor, RETROactive
Happy Canada Day from the staff of Alberta Culture and Tourism's Historic Resources Management Branch!
Happy Canada Day from the staff of Alberta Culture and Tourism’s Historic Resources Management Branch!