Community embraces Indigenous culture at Sask. heritage park

The weekend may have started out with chilly temperatures but that didn't stop the Wanuskewin Heritage Park from celebrating the winter season.

The park hosted the Kona Wanuskewin Winter Festival on Saturday.

"The Wanuskewin has been here for over 6,000 years, and so here we celebrate our culture and that's what we do here," said Tina Nelson, director of operations at Wanuskewin Heritage Park.

Wanuskewin Heritage Park, located 15 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, is an archeological site that contains 6,400 years of history.

Nelson said families from several different cultural backgrounds attended the event and had the chance to immerse themselves in Indigenous winter traditions dating back thousands of years.

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"To appreciate family, winter and coming together as a community that's really what it comes down to is that community is celebrating together," she said. 

"If you can celebrate people's differences then that is what is going to bring us closer," she added.

Indoor and outdoor activities included:

To appreciate family, winter and coming together as a community that's really what it comes down to is that community is celebrating together.- Tina Nelson, director of operations at Wanuskewin Heritage Park

• Dog sled rides
• Snowshoeing
• Hand drumming contest
• Fiddle and jigging competition
• Log sawing
• Snare and trap setting

In the past, the Wanuskewin lands were used to hunt buffalo and Nelson said the people who lived on the land thrived during winter months.

"They prospered, and today things have obviously changed, but we still celebrate that," she said.