Métis chef Jenni Lessard’s Han Wi Moon Dinner: bison tenderloin with yarrow and sage, plus fry bannock with birch butter and chokecherry syrup. A taste of connection. Photo courtesy Tourism Saskatchewan
As the sun sets over the South Saskatchewan River, I’m seated on a bluff at Wanuskewin Heritage Park savouring Métis chef Jenni Lessard’s Han Wi Moon Dinner starring bison tenderloin seasoned with yarrow and sage, and fry bannock with birch butter and chokecherry syrup. When we move to a roaring campfire for fireweed tea, the park’s founder and chief archaeologist Ernie Walker shares the story of how the resident bison herd uncovered four boulders covered in ancient petroglyphs (rock carvings) a few years ago by rubbing, wallowing and pawing in just the right place.
The miraculous discovery has helped Wanuskewin pursue a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. “It’s really nice to be on this land, eating good food and hearing good stories,” shares Lessard. “As a Métis person, when I eat bison, it feels like a direct connection to my past.”
A Fancy Shawl Dancer moves across the prairie at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, where the land has held ceremonies for more than 6,000 years. The dance tells a story of resilience, beauty, and the butterfly’s emergence — a reminder that Indigenous cultures are very much alive and evolving. Photo courtesy Tourism Saskatchewan
Located on Treaty Six Territory and the Homeland of the Métis outside of Saskatoon, Wanuskewin is a cultural centre and archaeological site that has been a gathering place for more than 6,400 years, first for nomadic Indigenous groups and now for global visitors. Its name roughly translates as “seeking peace of mind” in the Nēhiyawēwin (Plains Cree) language.
The Visitor Centre at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, where the “People of the Northern Plains Hall” features permanent exhibits on the culture and history of the Cree, Dakota, Dene, Lakota, and Nakota nations. For over 6,000 years, this land has been a gathering place — and here, those stories are honoured. Photo courtesy Tourism Saskatchewan
Visits are as peaceful as they are busy, as I take in a historic buffalo jump site, tipi rings, medicine wheel and the bison that are restoring native grasses. I meet Elders and residential school survivors, listen to a Cree fiddler, watch a powwow dancer in ornate regalia, have goose soup for lunch, join an interactive activity called “tipi teachings” and am guided across nearly 600 acres. The biggest takeaways – Indigenous cultures are very much alive and evolving, and Saskatchewan isn’t flat and boring. “Unfortunately for you, you are now deputized,” Walker teases. “Spread the word that there’s something special happening in Saskatchewan.”
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