Photo by Lucy Izon

Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump, Alberta - The name says it all. For almost 6,000 years native North Americans successfully hunted whole herds of bison by stampeding them over cliffs. Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump is considered the oldest and best preserved jump site. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981. The hunt involved young men dressed in buffalo skins coralling a herd along a route bordered with stone cairns, funneling them over the precipice. This site was named for a young native who tried to watch from below but was crushed. A seven-level interpertation has been built into the cliff and it's staffed with members of the of the Blackfoot Nation. Visitors can camp in teepees at the site. You can find Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo-Jump 18 km NW of Fort Macleod, the location of the first outpost of the North West Mounted Police (today’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police).

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