Tours

This program for young learners includes a puppet show, interactive activities, and hands-on learning tools to introduce students to Indigenous storytelling.

Students will explore Indigenous ways of knowing, the importance of the oral tradition, how Northern Plains animals survive the winter, and why storytelling is only done while there is snow on the ground.

This program only runs while there is snow on the ground.

Learn about Métis culture through this winter relay race based on Voyageur Games.

These games, still played today at Métis festivals and gatherings, were played to show off the competitors’ strength, endurance, and skills that were necessary to work the fur trade, instead of as a teaching tool like other traditional games.

The Bannock Bake program gives participants the opportunity to try their hand at cooking bannock over a fire while they learn about the history of bannock, its Scottish roots, and its place in Indigenous communities today.

This program has an additional material charge of $4.50 per person. May be suspended at any time in accordance with fire bans.

Before modern conveniences, bison were a major source of food, tools, and shelter to Northern Plains Indigenous peoples.

Join us for an interactive program that highlights Indigenous scientific knowledge, the evolution of hunting technologies, and the essential items that bison provided for day-to-day life.

In order to survive the challenging environment of the plains, children were taught survival skills in the form of games.

Try your hand at playing some traditional games to practice your hunting, physical, and social skills during this interactive program. These games have been used as a teaching tool for thousands of years to share skills such as endurance, hand-eye coordination, and observation.

The tipi is the perfect home for life on the plains.

Join us as we share the Plains Cree style tipi teachings gifted to Wanuskewin by Elder Mary Lee, and the life lessons that go along with each of these fifteen poles. We hope that participants are able to gain a deeper understanding of the holistic nature of Plains Cree well-being and health, as well as social roles, worldview, and women’s teachings, through this hands-on program.

Join one of our guides to learn about the archaeological efforts made at Wanuskewin with information from artifacts and oral history.

Participants will explore the Trail of Discovery, learn about the formation of the opimihāw Valley, the history and science behind archaeology, and see some former dig sites.

Subject to guide availability.

Learn about the medicinal and edible plants in the opimihāw Valley that Indigenous peoples use for sustenance, shelter, and tools.

This program emphasizes the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the land, our role as stewards of the ecosystems we live in, and past and present resource use and survival.

In accordance with our Trail Rules participants will not be allowed to harvest, gather, pick, or consume any plants, trees, or natural objects while on this program.

Learn about bison as a keystone species to the grassland ecosystem, and as a cultural keystone to Northern Plains Indigenous peoples.

Explore one of the methods of bison hunting through the nēwo asinīyak Bison Jump. Participants will learn about the spiritual relationship between Northern Plains Indigenous peoples and bison, and how the Wanuskewin bison herd is revitalizing culture and the environment.

Can be modified for indoors for weather or accessibility.

Get a glimpse of what daily life was like on the plains long ago during our Step Back in Time Walk.

Participants will have a chance to walk the opimihāw Valley and see the land from the perspective of Northern Plains Indigenous peoples. With a focus on the bison jump method of hunting and tipis as an ideal home on the plains, participants can explore the interdependence between the people of the plains and the environment around them.

From larger than life outdoor sculptures to tiny, intricate beading patterns, participants will learn about some of the key features that Indigenous artists use in their work.

This tour takes you through time as you explore artwork from thousands of years ago—such as the Wanuskewin Petroglyphs—to the artists of today featured in our galleries.

This program may be suspended at any time due to gallery closures; subject to guide availability.

View Art Collection

A guided tour of our exhibit spaces and exploration time with our interactive displays.

This tour features sections of the exhibits that touch on gifts from the land, language, clothing and regalia, archaeology, beading and trade, bison, and Treaty 6.

This program is an exploration of Indigenous dance styles as an art form and ceremony, a personal expression of the dancer’s culture and identity, and a way to share and preserve Indigenous culture.

Join one of our dancers during our Public Dance Presentation or as a private booking as they share their story and their dance style.

Based on dancer availability.

Please note that there is an additional charge for this program as a private booking to cover the honorarium paid to the dancer.

This program is a two-hour specialty program that explores the concept of wâhkôhtowin (Cree for kinship, or “all of my relations”) through the cultural, spiritual, and physical importance of bison to the Northern Plains Indigenous peoples, and the importance of bison to the plains as a keystone species.

Part I focuses on the ecological importance of bison, and how the decimation of bison negatively impacted the environment and the Indigenous peoples who relied on them. Part II focuses on the history and the relationship between bison and Indigenous Peoples of the Northern Plains, the cultural and spiritual significance of bison, and the longstanding relationship between people and animals.

This is a 2-hour specialty program; ensure participants bring proper clothing for the weather, good walking shoes, water, sunscreen, etc.

From across the northern plains, Indigenous peoples would travel to the opimihāw Valley to gather, hunt, and survive the winter.

The opimihāw Walk is a two-hour specialty program that showcases the full opimihāw Valley throughout our trail system.

This program is a 2-hour walk throughout the opimihāw Valley; ensure participants bring proper clothing for the weather, good walking shoes, water, sunscreen, etc.