With guided and self-guided tour options, choose how you experience the landscape, spirit, and history of Wanuskewin.
Guided Tours
Learn from one of our experienced interpreters on a guided tour. Perfect for school groups, businesses, non-profits, and more, our tours provide an immersive opportunity to interact with Northern Plains Indigenous cultures. With five core programs available year round, we rotate through seasonal program offerings in the fall and winter (September to March) and the spring and summer (April to August) for a variety of tours throughout the year.
What does a guided tour include?
- Admission to the site for the group
- Up to two hours of programming (extra programs can be added at an additional cost)
- Access to the Visitor Centre’s Exhibits, Galleries, and Gift Shop
- Access to our 7 km trail system, playground, and Bison Viewing Platform
- Access to seasonal offerings (e.g., snowshoes in winter)
- Daily Dance / Music Presentations (available May to September long weekend)
Self-guided Visits
Explore Wanuskewin at your own pace. Wander through our Visitor Centre’s exhibits, take in an Indigenous art exhibition in our galleries, or walk along our 7 km trail system in the opimihāw Valley.
What does a self-guided visit include?
- Admission to the site for the group
- Access to the Visitor Centre’s Exhibits, Galleries, and Gift Shop
- Access to our 7 km trail system, playground, and Bison Viewing Platform
- Access to seasonal offerings (e.g., snowshoes in winter)
- Daily Dance / Music Presentations (available May to September long weekend)
Guided tours and self-guided groups must be booked at least two weeks in advance. Complete the form below to secure your spot.
TEACHERS
Are you a Pre-K to Grade 12 educator looking to book a field trip to Wanuskewin? Check out our Wanuskewin Teacher Planning Guide 2025-2026 for everything you need to know before booking!
Year Round Programs
Tipi Teachings
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.
Through this hands-on program, participants will 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.
Curriculum Connections
This program is predominantly focused on the Social Studies and Health Education curriculums to give students a holistic view of Plains Cree health, wellbeing, and culture.
Curriculum Connections
Traditional Games
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.
Step Back in Time Walk
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.
Curriculum Connections
This program predominantly focuses on the Social Studies curriculum and explores how Northern Plains Indigenous peoples lived on the Great Plains long ago, and how they relied on the bison and grasslands ecosystem.
Curriculum Connections
Northern Plains Technology
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.
Curriculum Connections
This program predominantly focuses on the Social Studies curriculum in relation to resources and resource use by Northern Plains Indigenous peoples, their relationship to the land, and how they maintained the landscape.
Curriculum Connections
Dance Presentation
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.
Curriculum Connections
This program predominantly focuses on the Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Dance curriculums, sharing Indigenous dance styles and their meanings, origin, and ceremony.
Curriculum Connections
Fall and Winter Programs
(September to March)
Voyageur Games
Learn about Métis skills through this winter relay race.
These games, still played today at Métis festivals and gatherings, were played to show off the competitors’ expertise, endurance, and strength, all of which necessary to work the fur trade.
Please note that this program is only done when there is snow on the ground.
Puppet Tales
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, and why storytelling is only done while there is snow on the ground.
Please note that this program only runs while there is snow on the ground.
Curriculum Connections
Curriculum Connections
Exhibits Tour
Explore Wanuskewin’s People of the Northern Plains Hall with a guided tour of our permanent exhibit spaces and 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. A focus on art is available on request.
wâhkôhtowin: Bison Kinship
Explore the concept of wâhkôhtowin through the cultural, spiritual, and physical importance of bison to Northern Plains Indigenous peoples.
wâhkôhtowin is Plains Cree word that roughly translates to kinship, or “all of my relations.” Explore this concept by learning about the importance of bison to both the Northern Plains Indigenous peoples and to the grasslands through an immersive learning experience.
Curriculum Connections
This program predominantly focuses on the Social Studies curriculum to provide a holistic overview of the relationship between bison and both the Northern Plains Indigenous peoples and the Great Plains themselves.
Curriculum Connections
Spring and Summer Programs
(April to August)
Bison Walk
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.
Curriculum Connections
This program predominantly focuses on the Social Studies curriculum to provide a holistic overview of the relationship between bison and both the Northern Plains Indigenous peoples and the Great Plains themselves.
Curriculum Connections
Native Plant Walk
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.
Curriculum Connections
This program, created in partnerships with Elders, predominantly focuses on the Social Studies curriculum to teach students about environmental stewardship, conservation, and the connections between Indigenous peoples and the land.
Curriculum Connections
Bannock Bake
The Bannock Bake program gives participants the opportunity to try their hand at cooking bannock over a fire.
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. It may be suspended at any time in accordance with fire bans or poor weather.
Outreach Programming
We offer a selection of programs as in-person outreach. Please note that outreach is not available in May or June.
What does outreach include?
- One 45-60 minute session–up to four sessions can be booked in one day
- Programs can be done in your classroom, gym, library, outside, etc.
What is a drop-in table?
- We can set up a drop-in style table or booth at a your festival, event, or gathering
- This includes portions of our Traditional Games program and Northern Plains Technology program adapted to a drop-in style table or booth
- For all drop-in style tables / booths, we send a minimum of two guides, but may send and charge for more if you are expecting a very large turn-out of guests
Outreach programming must be booked at least two weeks in advance. Complete the form below to secure your spot.
Looking for other ways to experience Wanuskewin’s programming?
Check out our Online Learning Series options, kiskêyihtamowin: learning through experiences and Learning For Reconciliation.
Outreach Programs
Northern Plains Technology
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.
Curriculum Connections
This program predominantly focuses on the Social Studies curriculum in relation to resources and resource use by Northern Plains Indigenous peoples, their relationship to the land, and how they maintained the landscape.
Curriculum Connections Traditional Games
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.
Voyageur Games
Learn about Métis skills through this winter relay race.
These games, still played today at Métis festivals and gatherings, were played to show off the competitors’ expertise, endurance, and strength, all of which necessary to work the fur trade.
Please note that this program is only done when there is snow on the ground.
Puppet Tales
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, and why storytelling is only done while there is snow on the ground.
Please note that this program only runs while there is snow on the ground.
Curriculum Connections
Curriculum Connections Tour Pricing
| Student / Youth (Pre-K to Grade 12) | Large | Up to 30 people | $200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Up to 12 people | $125 | |
| Post-secondary / Non-profit | Large | Up to 30 people | $300 |
| Small | Up to 12 people | $175 | |
| Adult / Corporate / All Ages | Large | Up to 30 people | $400 |
| Medium | Up to 12 people | $250 | |
| Small | Up to 5 people | $125 | |
| Extra Program (45-60 min) | Per group | n/a | $75 |
| 45-60 Minute Outreach Session | 1 Outreach Session | Up to 30 people | $150 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra Session | Up to 4 additional sessions per day | $100 | |
| Outreach Dance Presentation | Variable (depends on size of group and number of dancers) | Variable | |
| Drop-in Table / Booth (for festivals, events, etc.) | Drop-in Style Outreach | For 2 guides to set up Traditional Games and Northern Plains Technology as a drop-in style table / booth | $500 |
| 45-60 Minute Outreach Session
*We will travel up to 2 hours outside of Saskatoon for outreach |
1 Outreach Session | Up to 30 people | $150 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra Session | Up to 4 additional sessions per day | $100 | |
| Outreach Dance Presentation | Variable (depends on size of group and number of dancers) | Variable | |
| Mileage | Based on travel distance | $0.55/km | |
| Additional Fees | Travel fee | $80 |
