Sask. commits $60K to help Wanuskewin apply for UNESCO world heritage site status

Wanuskewin Heritage Park near Saskatoon is getting some financial help from the province as it seeks status as a United Nations world heritage site.

The park will get $60,000 in one-time money from the province to hire a designated project co-ordinator to support the application, the Saskatchewan government said in a Tuesday news release.

The designation from UNESCO (the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is considered the gold standard for cultural and scientific sites internationally and the highest recognition for a protected heritage area.

The Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal are some examples of world heritage sites.

The process of getting such a designation is complex and takes many years, the province said.

If Wanuskewin's application is successful, this would be Saskatchewan's first world heritage designation. Canada has 20 sites on the world heritage list.

Saskatchewan is one of four provinces and territories without a world heritage site, along with Nunavut, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Following the recently announced discovery of four petroglyphs at the site, Wanuskewin Heritage Park will make its submission for the UNESCO designation by the end of 2022 through Parks Canada.

Ernie Walker, a forensic anthropologist and one of Wanuskewin's founders, discovered the rock art in 2020. He said while consideration for the status can take decades, the park is on "a faster track," since a decision could be made in Paris in June 2025, if all the intermediary processes go well.

Wanuskewin has been a gathering place for Indigenous people for more than 6,000 years, according to archeological records.

Bison were re-introduced to the site in 2019. Wanuskewin also has ancient campsites under excavation, as well as buffalo jumps that were used by Indigenous people thousands of years ago.