ECA Review - 2023-10-26

8 O ctober 26'23 HANNA/CORONATION/STETTLER, AB. ECA REVIEW
FEATURE
Manitou Sandhills Heritage Tour
by Leila Grobel
The Manitou Sandhills
Heritage subcommittee, initiated
by Mary Ironbow in 2018,
was re-established at the
February 2023 meeting of the
Manitou Sandhills Integrated
Resource Management Plan
(IRMP) Standing
Committee.
The Manitou
Sandhills comprise
105,000 acres
of Crown grazing
land next to the
Alberta border
south of
Lloydminster and
is one of the
largest areas of its
kind remaining in
Saskatchewan.
The Heritage
Subcommittee
held a tour of the
heritage and culturally
significant
sites within the
Manitou
Sandhills in northwest
Saskatchewan on Sept. 5, 2023.
In attendance were Brett
Vallee, Government of
Saskatchewan, Ecological
Management Specialist - Fish,
Wildlife and Lands Branch,
Ministry of Environment; Gail
Carruthers, Government of
Saskatchewan - Ministry of
Agriculture; Grant Moncrieff,
Southern Community Pastures
- Montcrieff Ranches; Eliann
Guinan and Heather Frary,
Government of Saskatchewan -
Heritage Conservation;
Christine Pike, Conservation
Representative of Waseca, Sask.;
Myron and Irene Ganser of
Provost, Alta. - Bodo
Archaeological Society (BAS);
and Clarence and Leila Grobel
of Consort, Alta. -
BAS/Suffern
Lake Regional
Park.
Unfortunately,
Chief Duane
Antoine of
Poundmaker
Cree Nation was
unable to join us.
He would have
taken the tour to
one or more sites
that hold value to
his nation and
possibly areas of
continued traditional
use.
The
Saskatchewan
Archaeological
Society has a
listing of 89 artifact
features
within the
Neutral Hills/
Manitou Sand
Hills, including
finds or scatter;
burials
(European and
Indigenous);
campsite and ceremonial
sites;
homesteads; and
Indigenous lithic
reduction sites.
There are
thought to be a
number of sacred
and ceremonial
sites that have
not been
identified to date that require
preservation and protection.
Eliann and Heather lead the
tour to the following sites of
interest: Yonker Village, Eyehill
Creek Community and a Bison
Kill/Pound Site. The Eyehill
Creek which flows out of
Courtesy of Government of Sask. Heritage Conservation Branch
Sounding Lake, Alta. and empties
into Manitou Lake, Sask.
loops throughout the Manitou
Sandhills, including the
Eastern Manitou Community
Pasture north of the Suffern
Lake Regional Park and
Community Pasture.
Yonker Village
Yonker existed as a railroad
village, unincorporated locally
in the Rural Municipality (RM)
of Senlac No. 411 from 1908 -
1947, along what was originally
the Grand Trunk Pacific
Railway (GTPR), until 1923; now
the Canadian National (CN)
Railway.
It is located approximately 42
kms. east of Chauvin, Alta.
The community got its name
from Mr. O. Winter, a contractor
for the GTPR as the line was
named alphabetically from the
east; “Vera”, after his daughter,
“Winter”, after himself, and to
the west (skipping over X),
“Yonker”, named after his
mother’s family.
Adjacent to
Yonker is
Neilburg, Artland,
then Yonker,
Winter and
Senlac.
Today a commemorative
sign
marks the site and
remnants of the
former post office,
a few other delapidated
buildings
and corrals are all
that remain of
what was likely a
vibrant railway
village with livestock
holding/
loading facilities
and an
Immigration Shed.
Chief Duane Antoine has
acknowledged there are two
gravesites in the Yonker area
and he is concerned about
access to ceremonial sites and
access for collecting medicinal
plants and herbs.
Eyehill Creek Community
The Saulteaux moved into
Saskatchewan from Southern
Manitoba in the late 1700s and
early 1800s, some settling on
reserve(s), while others, like
those at Manitou Lake, simply
lived on the land and hunted in
the vicinity. The Saulteaux,
especially those living at
Manitou Lake were renowned
for their horses.
“In 1914 Indian Agent J.A.
(Wikipedia) “The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway used an alphabetical
station naming system for railway stations along its
mainline from Winnipeg, Man. to Prince Rupert, B.C.
The name of the GTP railway station usually became the
name of the town that developed in close proximity to it.
A similar system was used in a part of Ontario.
“Beginning at Portage la Prairie, Man. and travelling northwest
through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to British
Columbia, the towns along the railway are listed in the
order they appear on maps, online including Wikipedia.
Rowlands noted: ‘These
people are possessed of quite
a large number of horses, of
good quality. They take
excellent care of them and
are keenly alive as to their
value and the benefit to be
derived from improving the
breed.’ (Sessional Papers
1914:128).
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Manitou Lake horses
were, “known among the
Indians, far and wide, as
very superior animals, especially
the Appaloosa and
pinto ponies”
(Kasokeo1981:1).
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