In the deep south of Alberta, Canada, lies a unique landscape at the northern edge of the semi-arid Great Plains of North America, near the border of Montana, United States.

This place is called Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi

The park was first established in 1957 and in 2019, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Blackfoot name of Áísínai’pi means “it is pictured"

The terrain is dominated by the Milk River Valley, a place of striking beauty with a remarkable concentration of rock pillars and hoodoos, sculpted into spectacular shapes by the relentless forces of erosion.

The rocks exposed in the milk river valley were formed some 85 million years ago at the edge of a great inland sea.

Massive volumes of meltwater after the last ice age some 20,000 years ago eroded the soft sandstone to form what you see today.

This region has a rich history of human interaction with the land, dating back thousands of years.

It is here, amidst the ancient rock formations, that the indigenous Blackfoot people have etched their stories, beliefs, and traditions for generations.

Thousands of Petroglyphs and Pictographs created by the Blackfoot people adorn these ancient canvases, preserving their messages through time.

Writing-on-Stone contains the greatest concentration of indigenous rock art on the North American Great Plains.

The archaeological remains found here span a period ranging from approximately 4,500 to 3,500 years Before Present and the Contact Period with the first Europeans.

Tipi rings and cairns, small bison jump deposits below cliffs and buried campsites in the valley have been found.

Most of the rock art dates to 1,000 years before present and the mid nineteenth century with some possibly older.

The rock art, created over centuries, shows the enduring connection the Blackfoot people maintain with the earth's spiritual powers and the land.

Thank you for watching!

► Chapters:
00:00 Intro to Writing-on-Stone
00:46 Exploring the Ancient Landscape
05:21 The Battle Scene Petroglyphs and Area
06:03 Landscape and Wildlife at Sunset
06:42 Outro

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