Tidbits

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Did you know?

• Alberta played a major role in the history of Canada’s fur trade and was home to many fur trade forts
  
  
• The first trading posts in Alberta were established in the Athabasca region
  
  
• Fort Edmonton was established in 1795
  
  
• Rocky Mountain House was established in 1799
  
  
• Lac La Biche was originally known as ‘Red Deer Lake Post’
  
  
• The Kainaiwa or Blood reserve is the largest in Canada
  
  
• The Peigans were the smallest band to sign Treaty 7
  
  
• Sarcee people share many social customs with the Blackfoot
  
  
• The Stoney people were reputed to be skilled horse thieves
  
  
• In the early days, Aboriginal tribes would use a ‘looking glass’ (mirror) to reflect sunlight and transmit messages with each other over distances as large as 4 km
  
  
• Traditionally, Stoney children were named for a physical characteristic or peculiar event that the mother witnessed at the time of birth
  
  
• Whoop-Up, Slide-Out, Stand-Off and Robbers’ Roost were all names of trading forts
  
  
• Morelyville, Alberta was an early Stoney community
  
  
• The Cree people enjoyed a variety of games. Long distance running was a popular sport. For those who were skilled with the bow and arrow, the Hoop Game was a favorite activity
  
  
• The Hoop Game was played by forming two teams standing opposite each other about 30 metres apart. A hoop was rolled swiftly back and forth, with the receiving side shooting at it as it rolled past. Every arrow that missed the hoop, became the property of the opposite team
  
  
• Cree women enjoyed playing a gambling game that consisted of four long sticks, with certain marks burnt into them on one side, while the other side remained blank. The sticks were thrown and points given depending on how the sticks landed. If all marked sides landed face up then the player received 10 points. If all blank landed face up then the player received eight points and five points were given when two burnt and two plain landed. Desirable items were given a point value and women would try and win the items from one another. For example, a hunting knife might be worth 10 points and could be won in one toss
  
  
• The Sioux men played a game called the ‘Moccasin Game’ incorporating four squares of material. One team would hide a bead underneath one of the squares and the other team had to guess where it was hidden

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