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Fort Battleford
Future of history hangs in balance
‘I Scream for Ice Cream!’
A reality shared by other national sites By Miguel Fenrich Staff Reporter
Months after Fort Battleford opened its gates in 2023 with doors locked, windows boarded shut, an infestation of gopher holes and the sound of lone flags waving over the landscape, a picture was painted of the oldest national historical site in Saskatchewan facing distress alone. But Fort Battleford isn’t alone. At the end of July, a drive down a stretch of cracking black asphalt in the southwest corner of Saskatchewan, climbing steep forested hills and passing over cattle grates would take a traveler to another of Saskatchewan’s federal historic parks. By 11 a.m. one would be parked in one of three empty parking lots — 35 minutes before Fort Walsh opens for the day to an imaginary swell of tourists. By noon, one family and a few stragglers would be apparent. A staff member would say they used to have 100 people visit before lunch; now they’re lucky if they get 100 in a day. They aren’t sure when the special brigade is coming, two actors sit outside the fort in relative silence, and on the drive out a few cars could be seen heading to the Fort Walsh National Historic Site This is a reality faced not just by Fort Battleford and Fort Walsh, but by every National Historic Site in Saskatchewan, and sprinkled across Western Canada. According to attendance data published by Parks Canada online, Fort Walsh, Fort Battleford, Batoche, and the Motherwell Homestead have seen at least an approximate 30 per cent drop in attendance since
2001 and before the COVID-19 pandemic — and this is while attendance at non-historic National Parks was climbing. On average, from 2001 to 2022, attendance has dropped by 44 to 85 per cent at all National Historic Sites in Saskatchewan. • Fort Walsh by 44 per cent, • Batoche by 50 per cent, • Motherwell Homestead by 56 per cent • Fort Battleford by 85 per cent — the winner by a large margin. Fort Battleford specifically has gone from seeing approximately 12,113 visitors on average from 2001 to 2005, down to 6,597 from 2006 to 2018, and most recently 1909 from 2019 to 2022 — a far cry from the hopeful 5,000 per year listed in the 2017 management plan. The sharpest decline is noted in 2006 — years before the collapse of the Friends of the Fort volunteer base or the pandemic — dropping by over 10,000 visitors and never recuperating. Four years later and after years of battle, the now late Tyrone Tootoosis would be successful in changing the story presented at Fort Battleford from one of siege, to one with Indigenous perspective included. But, this wasn’t the first time Fort Battleford’s future was called into question. The Birth of the Battlefords Historical Society
Tara Scaglione, a staff reporter for the News-Optimist, wrote in 2010 that Battleford’s ‘extensive’ history played an important part in defining the community and even the nation at large. Continued on Page 7
A spooky display a half mile north of Meeting Lake Regional Park near Rabbit Lake has many people returning year after year. Linda Price’s Halloween Haunted Forest is a family affair and occupies their imagination all year round. This is its fourth year of presenting various themes throughout the walk. See inside for more information and photos. | Photo by Elaine Woloshyn
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