BANFF— Members of the Siksika Nation are offering guided hayride tours in Banff this weekend to share their Indigenous history of the landscape.
The hayrides will begin at the Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum at 1 Birch Ave. on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 2-3) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and take participants to the Cave and Basin National Historic Site and back.
Todd Nakamura said the horse-drawn ride will take 45 minutes and during that time the local history of the Siksika, also known as the Blackfoot, will be shared.
"The Blackfoot Nation in conjunction with Many Guns Ranch and the Blackfoot Warrior Party Horsemanship and Film Society are hosting hayrides from the Buffalo Nations Museum to the Cave and Basin," Nakamura said.
"This is traditional Blackfoot territory."
The event will follow strict COVID-19 safety protocols, with only two families or groups per hayride. Permits from the Town of Banff and Parks Canada are in place for the event.
The Siksika guides that will share their history during the hayride are descendants of one of the original signatories of Treaty 7, signed on Sept. 22, 1877.
The Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan), Stoney Nakoda and Tsuut'ina (Sarcee) signed the treaty with the government of Canada.
"They are related to a chief named Many Swans (Akka-Makkoye), who had actually signed Treaty 7 along with Crowfoot," Nakamura said. "The history of the Blackfoot people includes this area."
The museum itself is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, but those wishing to sign up for the hayride— Which costs $35 per person— Can do so by contacting the concierge desk at the Rimrock Resort Hotel at [email protected] or 1-888-Rimrock (746-7625)
