An Enduring Story of an Iconic Animal: Archaeology and Bison as Support for Wanuskewin as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bison are a key to every aspect of Wanuskewin Heritage Park. This thesis undertakes a detailed faunal analysis of the remains from Wolf Willow, a multicomponent archaeological site in the Opimihaw Creek Valley. The results of this study show the Plains bison (Bison bison bison) to be the dominant animal in the assemblage. Large quantities of highly fragmented remains indicate area was a habitation space, taphonomic marks indicate the bison were used for food production and tool manufacture. More than any other animal, bison are what people used in their day-to-day life when occupying this space. From this information, the research expands to look at all other sites in the valley area, drawing the conclusion that bison are the most commonly present animal in all archaeology sites and habitation areas in the Opimihaw Creek Valley. They are pervasive in the past occupations. Investigation into other lines of evidence that depict and demonstrate the bison within the Park area is conducted, with Hoofprint Tradition rock art and the presence of bison iconography in archaeological sites. Today, Plains bison have been returned to restored grassland fields at Wanuskewin. Their presence is for education, restoration, culture, and ceremony. They are a spiritual herd and give a visual for how their presence would have been felt in the past. The bison are a part of every aspect of the story of Wanuskewin. With the archaeological research done, specifically faunal analyses and the remains from Wolf Willow, bison are clearly important. Current efforts from Wanuskewin Heritage Park to become established as a UNESCO World Heritage site have ideas coming up about what makes this space truly special. The second part of this work discusses this, and how so easily every part of the story of Wanuskewin relates back to bison. They are what Wanuskewin is about, past and present, and give it its Outstanding Universal Value