Pre-Conference Field Trips
The following pre-conference field trips will be offered on Sunday September 9, 2007 for delegates to experience the local history and landscape.
Travel from Calgary to Waterton is approximately 3 to 4 hours. Delegates registering for the pre-conference field trips may therefore wish to consider arriving on Saturday September 8, 2007.
Recommended accommodations for pre-conference field trip participants are:
Waterton
Bayshore Inn: Room rate of $135 per night.
Bear Mountain Motel: Rooms range from $70-$135.
Please specify that you are with the Parks, Peace and Partnerships Conference when making your reservation.
Register for field trips:
Pre-conference field trip registration is now available. Spaces are limited so register early.
Head-Smashed In Buffalo Jump
Sunday September 9, 2007, 12:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Fee: $68 (includes transportation, admission, and lunch)
Minimum: 30 participants
Maximum: 55 participants
For thousands of years the native people of the Plains hunted the North American Bison. The Plains Indian's lifestyle became dependent on hunting buffalo, and they adapted numerous hunting techniques to obtain their livelihood. The most sophisticated technique developed by the native people to kill buffalo was the buffalo jump.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Head-Smashed in Buffalo Jump is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved buffalo jumps in North America. The site is composed of four distinct components: the gathering basin, the drive lanes, the cliff site and the processing area.
Head-Smashed in Buffalo Jump is a remarkable testimony of prehistoric life bearing witness to a custom practiced by native people of the North American plains for nearly 6000 years. It demonstrates their excellent understanding of topography and of bison behaviour.