History and Heritage of Southern Alberta
Thousands of years of Blackfoot history, whisky forts, red-coated police, coal towns and a mountain that fell. It’s all within a day trip of Lethbridge.
In Simple Terms
Southern Alberta is the homeland of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Siksikaitsitapi: the Siksika, Kainai, Piikani and Amskapi Piikani. Their history here goes back thousands of years, and it is still being lived today. The stories that came later, of traders, police, miners and settlers, all happened on Blackfoot land.
The places below are run by Indigenous nations, the Province, towns and volunteers. Visit with respect. At sacred sites, follow the guidance of the people who care for them.
Jump to: Head-Smashed-In · Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi · Blackfoot Crossing · Fort Whoop-Up · Fort Macleod and the NWMP · Lethbridge’s coal origins · High Level Bridge · Galt Historic Railway Park · Japanese Canadian history · Cardston · Frank Slide · Crowsnest Pass mines · Medicine Hat
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
For nearly 6,000 years, Plains people drove bison over these sandstone cliffs, using knowledge of the land, the animals and the wind passed down over generations. In Blackfoot the site is Estipah-skikikini-kots. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, one of the best-preserved buffalo jumps anywhere.
- The interpretive centre, opened in 1987, is built right into the cliff and has seven levels of exhibits.
- Walk the upper trail to the cliff-top viewpoint, and the self-guided trail below the cliff (allow 30 to 45 minutes).
- In July and August, watch for First Nations drumming and dancing on the plaza on Wednesdays. Blackfoot guides can lead booked group tours.
- Open year-round; admission charged.
The name comes from a story about a young man who wanted to watch the bison fall from below the cliff. He was crushed, and was found with his head smashed.
The cliff-top trail is fully exposed to the Porcupine Hills wind. Hold onto hats and phones, and keep kids well back from the edge on gusty days.
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park / Áísínai’pi
In Blackfoot, Áísínai’pi means “it is pictured/written.” Hoodoos and sandstone cliffs along the Milk River hold one of the largest concentrations of rock art on the Great Plains: more than 50 petroglyph sites and thousands of carvings and paintings. It is a sacred place: in Blackfoot tradition, Sacred Beings live among the cliffs and hoodoos, and ceremonies continue today. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019 after more than a decade of work by Alberta and the Blackfoot Confederacy.
- The most sensitive rock art is in an archaeological preserve you can enter only on a guided tour with a park interpreter. Book ahead in summer.
- Walk the hoodoo trails on your own, or canoe or kayak the Milk River.
- You’ll also find a rebuilt North-West Mounted Police outpost on its original site.
Never touch, chalk, carve or climb on rock art. Oils from skin damage it. Stay on trails, and watch for rattlesnakes and steep, crumbly sandstone edges.
The valley bakes in July and August, often hotter than Lethbridge. Tour early and carry lots of water. Thunderstorms build fast over the Sweet Grass Hills, so watch the southern sky.
Visit the official website (Alberta Parks) ↗ · Tours and programs ↗
Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park
A traditional gathering place on the Bow River, and the site where Treaty 7 was signed in 1877. The Siksika chief Crowfoot is believed to be buried here. The Siksika Nation runs the park, which opened in 2007 to promote and preserve Siksika language, culture and traditions.
- Explore interactive museum exhibits, and book a tour with a Siksika interpreter.
- Catch dance and craft demonstrations, try traditional foods at the cafeteria and visit the artisan gift shop.
- The grounds also hold an earthlodge village site, thought to date to around 1740. It’s the only known one of its kind on the Canadian Prairies.
- Tipi camping is available for a deeper cultural visit.
The prairie above the Bow River is wide open. Bring layers for wind, and in summer, watch for afternoon thunderstorms building to the west.
Fort Whoop-Up and the Whisky Trade
In 1869, Montana traders John J. Healy and Alfred B. Hamilton built Fort Hamilton where the St. Mary River meets the Oldman (then called the Belly). It soon became known as Fort Whoop-Up, the centre of an illegal trade in whisky for buffalo robes. That trade did lasting harm to Blackfoot communities. Historian Hugh Dempsey wrote a whole book about it, Firewater: The Impact of the Whisky Trade on the Blackfoot Nation.
- The replica in Indian Battle Park was built in 1967. The Galt Museum runs it and tells the story through Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis and settler viewpoints.
- Nearby, the Battle of the Belly River (1870) is remembered as the last major battle between First Nations in Canada.
When the North-West Mounted Police finally reached Fort Whoop-Up in October 1874, they found no whisky there.
Fort Macleod and the Fort Museum of the North West Mounted Police
In July 1874, 275 men of the new North-West Mounted Police set out from Fort Dufferin on the March West. Their job was to shut down the whisky trade. It was a gruelling trek of nearly 1,400 km: horses and oxen died, food ran short and some men arrived in rags. In October 1874 they built Fort Macleod beside the Oldman River, named for Commissioner James Macleod.
- The Fort Museum tells the NWMP story, honours peaceful relations with the Blackfoot and holds a collection of Blackfoot clothing, artistry and everyday objects.
- In summer, riders in red coats perform a Musical Ride several times a day, carrying on a tradition of riding displays that goes back to 1876. (It’s the museum’s own ride, not the RCMP’s.)
- Walk the downtown. In 1984 it became Alberta’s first Provincial Historic Area.
- Admission charged. Combine it with Head-Smashed-In, about 18 km away.
Fort Macleod is known for fierce wind. Highway 3 and Highway 2 nearby get strong crosswinds, so high-sided vehicles and trailers should check gusts first.
Lethbridge’s Coal Origins: The Galt Mines
Lethbridge exists because of coal. In the 1870s, Nicholas Sheran mined a seam in the coulees and sold coal to Montana traders and the police. On October 13, 1882, Sir Alexander Galt’s North Western Coal and Navigation Company opened the first Galt drift mine across the river. The town was named after the company’s president, William Lethbridge, in 1885. The last mine closed in 1957.
- Learn the story at the Galt Museum, set in the 1910 Galt Hospital that once cared for coal miners.
- Look for the Coal Banks kiosk in Indian Battle Park, and walk the Coal Banks Trail.
Hauling coal by riverboat didn’t work, so the Galts built a narrow-gauge railway to the CPR main line at Medicine Hat. It was finished in 1885.
The museum is the perfect stop on a cold or smoky day. You still get a view of the coulees from its perch on the edge of the valley.
Galt Museum & Archives ↗ · Alberta’s energy heritage: the Galt mines ↗
The CPR High Level Bridge
When the CPR rerouted its Crowsnest line through Lethbridge, it built a steel giant to cross the valley. Work started in 1907, the last girder went up in June 1909 and riveting finished that August. The viaduct is about 1,624 m long and about 96 m high. It is still in regular service more than a century later. Its construction was named an event of national historic significance in 2005.
It’s an active railway. Never walk on the bridge or stand directly underneath it.
Best viewpoints (Helen Schuler Nature Centre) ↗ · More on our Lethbridge page
Galt Historic Railway Park
A little-known gem. The star is the restored 1890 International Train Station, which once straddled the Canada-US border between Coutts and Sweetgrass, Montana. It was bought in 2000, moved to Stirling and opened to the public in 2005. The Galt family’s companies also built the Galt Irrigation Canal (1898 to 1900), dug largely by Latter-day Saint settlers, which brought St. Mary River water to Stirling and Lethbridge.
- Guided tours, a caboose, a picnic shelter; pets welcome.
- Open only a few days a week in summer, so check before you go. Payment options are limited.
It’s an open-air prairie site with little shade. Bring sun protection, and skip it on a gusty, dusty day.
Japanese Canadian History and Nikka Yuko
Japanese workers came to southern Alberta in the early 1900s for mining, railway and sugar beet work. Some settled around Raymond, which grew into the largest Japanese community east of the Rockies. In 1942, the federal government forcibly uprooted about 21,000 Japanese Canadians from the BC coast. More than 2,500 were sent to work Alberta sugar beet farms around Picture Butte, Coaldale, Raymond, Magrath and other towns. Many lived in uninsulated shacks without running water.
- Many stayed after the war and built farms and businesses. Their story is now recognized as a national historic event.
- The Raymond Buddhist Church, built as a school in 1902-03 and bought by Raymond’s Japanese Society in 1929, is a provincial historic site.
- Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden (1967) in Lethbridge honours Japanese Canadian contributions and Japan-Canada friendship.
By November 1945, about 65% of the region’s beet workers were Japanese Canadians.
Galt Museum: Broken Promises ↗ · Parks Canada: Japanese Experience in Alberta ↗ · Visiting Nikka Yuko
Cardston: Remington Carriage Museum and the Alberta Temple
The Remington Carriage Museum opened in 1993 and displays more than 250 horse-drawn vehicles. It’s often called the largest collection of its kind in the world. In July and August, you can ride in a carriage pulled by real horses.
Cardston was founded in 1887 by Latter-day Saint settlers led by Charles Ora Card. The white granite Cardston Alberta Temple, dedicated in 1923, was the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built outside the United States. It is a National Historic Site. The temple has a visitors’ centre; the inside of the temple is reserved for church members holding a current temple recommend.
Cardston sits close to the mountains, and chinook winds can roar through. Carriage rides may pause in strong wind or lightning.
Frank Slide Interpretive Centre
Early on April 29, 1903, about 110 million tonnes of limestone broke off Turtle Mountain and buried part of the coal town of Frank in about 90 seconds. Most of the roughly 110 people living in its path were killed, and many still lie under the rock. It’s Canada’s deadliest rockslide.
- The interpretive centre, opened in 1985, overlooks the slide and also covers Crowsnest coal-mining history.
- Drive Highway 3 straight through the boulder field, and walk the trail among the rocks.
- Admission charged; open year-round, with shorter hours in the off-season.
Seventeen miners were trapped underground by the slide. They dug themselves out and all emerged about 13 hours later. Turtle Mountain is still watched by more than 80 monitoring stations.
Pass weather can flip fast: snow in May, strong west winds year-round. Check 511 Alberta before you go, especially in spring and fall.
Crowsnest Pass Coal Country: Bellevue Mine, Leitch Collieries and Hillcrest
The Pass was built on coal, and you can still go underground. At the Bellevue Underground Mine, guided tours lead you through about 300 m of restored tunnel. The full mine once had about 240 km of workings. The Leitch Collieries ruins (1907-1915) are what remains of the only Canadian-owned and -operated mine in the Pass, now stabilized with signs that explain how the plant worked.
- Hillcrest Cemetery: on June 19, 1914, an explosion at the Hillcrest mine killed 189 men. It’s the worst coal-mining disaster in Canadian history. Many victims lie in a mass grave marked by a memorial.
- Crowsnest Museum in Coleman ties the story together and lists the Bellevue mine among its heritage sites.
Only go underground on the official guided tour, with the gear provided. Never enter old mine openings or ruins beyond posted areas; abandoned workings can collapse or hold bad air. Mines stay cool all year, so bring a warm layer even in July.
Crowsnest Pass is known for powerful westerlies. Drivers towing trailers on Highway 3 should check gust forecasts before heading west.
Bellevue Underground Mine ↗ · Leitch Collieries ↗ · Hillcrest Mine and Cemetery ↗ · Crowsnest Museum ↗
Medicine Hat: Medalta and the Esplanade (brief)
Medicine Hat’s clay built an industry. Medalta, founded in 1916, was making about three-quarters of Canada’s stoneware by 1924. Today it’s the heart of the Historic Clay District museum. The Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre holds the city’s museum, archives and gallery. Both are covered in detail on our North and East page.
Before you go
- Check the forecast, and the forecast for where you’re going. Mountain and prairie weather can differ a lot.
- Road conditions, closures and cameras: 511 Alberta.
- Many historic sites keep summer-only or reduced off-season hours. Always check the official site.
- Book guided tours (Writing-on-Stone, Bellevue Mine) ahead in peak season.
- At Indigenous and sacred sites, follow posted guidance. Don’t touch rock art or remove anything.
Keep exploring
Details change. Always check the official website for hours, fees, closures and reservations before you go. Drive times are approximate from central Lethbridge.