Maps and Places
In my last post, I talked about the importance of finding more balance when naming places on the Canadian landscape. Many places once had or could have, equivalent Indigenous names. Those Indigenous names were forgotten, replaced with Euro-Canadian names, or original names were not kept because they were not relevant to the new Euro-Canadian colonizers. And as one Edmonton alderman put it (and who later apologized for his remarks), some Indigenous names were just too difficult to pronounce and should not be used for signage. I guess I’m out of the race then. There will never be a ‘Pyszczyk’ Avenue in Edmonton if we apply those guidelines.
Historic maps can be a great source of information about long-lost places and names. But even here there is a fundamental problem. Most Canadian maps were drawn by early Euro-Canadians who had their own agenda of what was important to record, and what was not. In the words of historian, Theodore Binnema:
“Map makers must interpret landscapes, select the most important features of those landscapes, and depict those features in a way that their audience will understand… No part of this enterprise is objective. Each is heavily influenced by the society in which it occurs. Maps then, are artifacts that preserve potentially valuable information about human societies and the relationships they have had with their surroundings…” (an excerpt from an unpublished manuscript, written by Dr. Theodore Binnema, University of Northern British Columbia)
Indigenous maps would inform us of what was once important to the individual who drew them. There are few Canadian Indigenous maps. Indigenous maps of Alberta are even more rare. There are a few exceptions, however. This is the story of one such rare map, drawn by a Siksika man, in 1802. The map was copied by explorer, and trader, Peter Fidler of the Hudson’s Bay Company, while staying at the short-lived, ill-fated Chesterfield House (located at the confluence of the South Saskatchewan and Red Deer Rivers). When viewing Kioocus’s map, we get a glimpse of parts of central Alberta and Saskatchewan through this man’s eyes. 1
Dr. Binnema’s words are best supported by some examples. Look at the three maps below. They show the same area of Alberta and Saskatchewan, each drawn at different time periods, by different people.
If you compare these maps to one another they support Dr. Binnema’s point – the incorporation of places and their names lies not only in changing transportation technologies and settlement, but also in the eye of the beholder, or map maker.
The Kioocus Map
Dr. Binnema and I have stared at the Kioocus map for quite some time now. Whenever I drive through certain parts of the two prairie provinces, I look for the places Kioocus shows on his map. Some are easy to find, some very hard, and others still elude me.
The Kioocus map covers parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana, USA. The top of the map is oriented roughly north. When you first glance at it, you will probably have a hard time figuring out where you are. There is no scale and there are no roads. Here are a few key reference points that might help. Buffalo Lake (# 7), Alberta occurs at the top left side of the map. Manitou Lake (God’s Lake), Saskatchewan (#31) is located on the top right corner of the map. If you follow the South Saskatchewan River west, you will come to the confluence of the South Saskatchewan and Red Deer Rivers, where the Northwest Company and Hudson’s Bay Company built Chesterfield House. The typed names on the map are recent additions. The small open dots mark camping places as Kioocus’s band travelled across the landscape. The names of places are in Blackfoot, translated by Fidler.
It is impossible to do justice to the entire map in this post. So I will focus on the eastern part of Alberta and the western part of Saskatchewan and particularly Kioocus’s journey from Chesterfield House north across the plains to the Neutral Hills, located just north of present-day Consort, Alberta. I’ve driven that stretch of Highway 41 from Oyen to Consort many times. There is a lot of nothing out there – endless stretches of prairie with very few reference points to guide you. According to my late cousin, Ralph Berg, this is an area where even Jackrabbits packed lunch pails.
Some Familiar and Long-Lost Places
Chesterfield House: Kioocus’s band came from northern Montana, by foot and on horseback, skirted the western edge of the Cypress Hills and temporarily visited and traded at Chesterfield House before continuing north. Along that trek, Kioocus pointed out a number of places to Fidler. Some of those locations are easy to identify because they have retained similar names. Others are difficult to locate and verify with any other evidence. In the list of places below, refer to the Kioocus map and the numbers Fidler puts near those places.
#29. Ocks as sax e kim me — berries: There is a set of hills, south of Sounding Creek and southeast of the Misty Hills to the east of the travel route that fits this location. Kioocus depicts hills on his map by wavy lines which you can barely see on #29. (Numbers 2 and 4 are better examples). These hills occur just northeast of Salt Lake, putting them at N51o 38’49.58” and W110o13’54.58”. They have no name, only that you can find berries there.
#28. A qun is que — plenty of berries: This location could be any place on Sounding Creek, Alberta. But there must have also been hills or steep banks there, according to Kioocus’s map. However, if we draw a straight line between Chesterfield House and the ‘Nose of the Buffalo'(#30) and assume that Kioocus’s band travelled in a relatively straight line, then the spot on Sounding Creek becomes relatively more well-defined. There are archaeological sites, and possibly a bison pound, roughly where that line crosses the creek. This was definitely a well-travelled route and camping location by First Nations people.
#27. Chis seeks — little poplar (Below): This place refers to the Misty Hills, Alberta. These high hills line up along Kioocus’s route between the ‘Buffalo Nose’ (#30) and Chesterfield House. A creek and spring run through them where there are trees, plenty of berry shrubs and game animals. The area contains major archaeological sites as well as stone chert and quartzite outcroppings which were essential for stone tool making. The hills are very prominent and would have been an easy landmark to spot from far away for people travelling on foot or horseback. I have visited these hills and have taken extensive pictures. The view from the top is spectacular. The view from a helicopter is even more so.
#26. Eech e suk kitche stoup — a little poplar (Below): Mud Buttes, Alberta are located south of Consort, Alberta west of Highway 41 (you can see them when driving along Highway 41). The buttes are a very prominent landmark in the area and, like the Misty Hills, somewhat of an oasis in the prairie. They would have contained wood and water, and most likely outsourced chert pebbles, which were a major type of stone used for making stone tools by prehistoric Indigenous peoples.
#30. ‘Buffalo nose’: This location refers to a singular, very prominent hill, just north of Veteran, Alberta, called Nose Hill by the Cree and Blackfoot. The hill is located near the westernmost edge of the Neutral Hills. It seems to signify the northernmost boundary of Blackfoot territory during that time period. Not only was the Nose a very prominent landmark, but it was also a major source of pebble chert for stone tool making. There are dozens of archaeological sites on the top of this hill representing many camping episodes by First Nations Peoples.
#7. E new o kee, Buffalo Lake: This is present-day Buffalo Lake, located just north of Stettler, Alberta, and north of the furthest northern point on the Red Deer River, in today’s Alberta parklands. This is one of the few places on the map that is in the parklands, past the ‘woods edge’ shown on the Kioocus map. According to explorer John Palliser, the lake received its name from, “…its outline of a buffalo hide stretched out…”. However, Kioocus would not have known its shape from the ground. The more likely reason for its name is that the lake and surrounding area were very important for the buffalo-pounding/wintering campsites that occur all along the parkland/prairie transition zone. On the east side of Buffalo Lake, there is an enormous prehistoric site that has been occupied almost continually for 8,000 years (known as Boss Hill). There is also a large bison pound between Buffalo Lake and the Red Deer River.
#8. E new oo suy yis, Buffalo tail Creek: Tail Creek, running out of the south end of Buffalo Lake into the Red Deer River, forms the tail of the buffalo. When we consider numbers 7, 8, and 30 together, we have the buffalo nose (3), body (7) and tail (8) stretching across the prairie-parkland transition – the important wintering grounds of the plains bison. Tail Creek also became an important wintering site for the Hivernant Metis later in the 1870s.
#31. N_ too o kee or Gods Lake: Gods Lake refers to Manitou Lake, near Marsden, Saskatchewan (see the enlargement on the Kioocus map). It is the largest saltwater lake in the Prairie Provinces. There are many known archaeological sites near the lake. There is a high hill just south of the lake, listed as #34 on the Kioocus map (which might already be destroyed by mining activities). Both the Blackfoot and the Cree claimed the waters of the lake had healing powers. There are 27 different types of salts dissolved in the water.
#32. Now tok que a lake (Below): Sounding Lake, Alberta is located south of the Neutral Hills, south of Provost, Alberta. The lake is very prominent in Blackfoot and Cree lore. According to one legend, the lake received its name when an eagle with a snake in its claws flew out of the lake making a loud sound like thunder. There is a high archaeological site density in the area and along the entire Sounding Creek drainage.
Distance and Some Unmarked Places Along the Way
Distance and Travel Time: Below is an aerial photograph of Kioocus’s route. It shows the distance between Chesterfield House to the Buffalo ‘Nose‘, and then to ‘Gods Lake‘ (Manitou Lake). If each circle represents a stop between Chesterfield House and the ‘Nose’, then the band would have travelled the approximately 100-mile distance (165km) in ten days, covering about 10 miles (16.5km) per day. Men, women, children, horses, dogs, and their belongings. No small feat.
Consort Quarry Site (Below): If you draw a straight line between Chesterfield House and the Nose, Kioocus’s band would have come very close to the Consort Quarry site (shown in the aerial photograph) – possibly one of the most unique, perplexing places in Alberta. There are various theories on how the rather large holes (numbering over 100) were created (meteorite hits, ice wedges, or purposely dug by hand to extract the chert pebbles). Regardless of how they were made, black, flat chert pebbles were abundant and there is evidence that Indigenous peoples visited the area.
Bodo Archaeological Site (Below): if Kioocus’s band travelled down ‘Snake Creek’ (now called Eyehill Creek) they would come to a sand hill formation south of Bodo, Alberta. This was an important place for Indigenous people for thousands of years, as is evident by the vast amount of archaeological remains.
A Few Concluding Remarks
These are just a few of the places Kioocus shows on his map. They represent what was important to the Siksika in the early 19th century. There are more places of equal interest on the Kioocus map that will have to await a future post. My objective here was not to give these places names or promote any of them for signage. That is not my role. It is up to the Indigenous community to determine what is significant and what to name some of those places. I simply point out that these places were once important, at least to one Siksika man and his followers. I have visited some of these places with Blackfoot elders, to look for themselves and have shown them the Kioocus map as a reference. Even for them, many of these places were no longer in their collective memories or recorded in their oral histories.
Perhaps someday we will see a Kioocus Way along the Highway 41 route. Of course, his name may be too hard to say for some politicians, thereby deeming it unworthy of historic recognition.
Footnotes:- For an overview of other Indigenous maps in Canada check out the article by Judith Hudson Beatie[↩]
- HBCA, PAM, E. 3/2, fols. 104d-l05[↩]
- Photograph courtesy of Ted Binnema, University of Northern British Columbia[↩]