The Three Sisters | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,936 m (9,633 ft) [1] |
Listing | Mountains of Alberta |
Coordinates | 51°01′29″N115°19′50″W / 51.02472°N 115.33056°W [2] |
Geography | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Alberta |
Parent range | South Banff Range, Canadian Rockies |
Topo map | NTS 82O3 Canmore [2] |
Climbing | |
First ascent | 1887 by J.J. McArthur [1] |
The Three Sisters are a trio of peaks near Canmore, Alberta, Canada. They are known individually as Big Sister, Middle Sister and Little Sister. [3]
In the traditional language of the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney) the peaks are also referred to as the three sisters. However, the name refers to a story of Ĩ-ktomnĩ, the old man or trickster, who would promise 'three sisters' in marriage whenever he was in trouble. [4]
This trio of peaks has a significant role in the town of Canmore, tourism, and hiking in the area. The Three Sisters may be the most recognized peaks in the Bow River Valley. [5]
In 1883, Albert Rogers, a nephew of Major A. B. Rogers, was the first settler to name the mountains when he saw the sides of the peaks covered in snow, resembling three praying nuns: [6] [1]
There had been quite a heavy snowstorm in the night, and when we got up in the morning and looked out of the tent I noticed each of the three peaks had a heavy veil of snow on the north side and I said to the boys, 'Look at the Three Nuns'.
Initially called the Three Nuns, they were later renamed the Three Sisters. This last name first appeared on George Mercer Dawson's 1886 map, which apparently found the name, and was more appropriate in a spirit of Protestantism. [1]
Another story is that the first superintendent of Banff National Park, George Stewart, named it after his three daughters: Frances, Olive, and Grace. [7]
Peak | metres | feet | Coordinates | First Ascent |
---|---|---|---|---|
Big Sister (Faith) | 2,936 | 9,632 | 51°00′50″N115°21′00″W / 51.01389°N 115.35000°W | 1887 |
Middle Sister (Charity) | 2,769 | 9,084 | 51°01′00″N115°20′00″W / 51.01667°N 115.33333°W | 1920 |
Little Sister (Hope) | 2,694 | 8,840 | 51°01′30″N115°20′00″W / 51.02500°N 115.33333°W | 1925 |
Big Sister is a moderate scramble on southwestern slopes and is very steep while Middle Sister is an easy scramble from Stewart Creek. Little Sister is a more difficult ascent requiring technical climbing skills. The Three Sisters Traverse is an obscure and dangerous climb seldom done. [8] [9]
Being located in the southern Canmore mountain area, there are several wildlife notorious for the area. Wildlife species include but are not limited to grizzly bears, wolverines, lynxes, wolves, cougars, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep. In particular, the grizzly bear, lynx, and wolverine are considered endangered in this region. [10]
The Three Sisters mountain is located near Canmore, AB. Canmore is located within the region of Treaty 7, which exists in Southern Alberta. Canmore exists within the traditional territory of the Iyarhe Nakoda (Stoney Nakoda), the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) and Tsuut’ina (Beaver, Sarcee) First Nation.
At present, the Stoney Nakoda live primarily on six reserves; Stoney Indian Reserves #142, #143, #144 at Mini Thni (Morley) located 65 km. west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway between Calgary and Banff; Rabbit Lake Indian Reserve #142B northwest of Mini Thni (Morley); Eden Valley Indian Reserve #216, located 120 km. south of Mini Thni (Morley) near Longview; and the Bighorn Reserve #144A located 265 km. northwest of Mini Thni (Morley) near Nordegg.
The Stoney Nakoda comprises three First Nations: Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney (Wesley) Nation.
The Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) is a Tribal Council for the Blackfoot Confederacy Nations of Kainai (Blood Tribe), Siksika (Blackfoot), Piikani (Peigan) and Aamskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet). Aamskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet) Nation is located in the United States of America. The Kainai (Blood Tribe), Siksika (Blackfoot), Piikani (Peigan) reservations are located across Treaty 7.
Treaty 7 is also home to the Tsuut’ina First Nation (Beaver, Sarcee). The reservation is west of Calgary.
<ref>https://stoneynakodanations.com/about-us/<ref> <ref>https://blackfootconfederacy.ca/about/<ref> <ref>https://tsuutina.com/our-history/<ref> <ref>https://stoneynakodanations.com/about-us/<ref> <ref>https://blackfootconfederacy.ca/about/<ref> <ref>https://legacy.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/For%20Members/ProfessionalDevelopment/Walking%20Together/PD-WT-16f%20-%20Numbered%20Treaties%207.pdf<ref>
The Piegan are an Algonquian-speaking people from the North American Great Plains. They are the largest of three Blackfoot-speaking groups that make up the Blackfoot Confederacy; the Siksika and Kainai are the others. The Piegan dominated much of the northern Great Plains during the nineteenth century.
The Blackfoot Confederacy, Niitsitapi, or Siksikaitsitapi, is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Blackfeet people: the Siksika ("Blackfoot"), the Kainai or Blood, and two sections of the Peigan or Piikani – the Northern Piikani (Aapátohsipikáni) and the Southern Piikani. Broader definitions include groups such as the Tsúùtínà (Sarcee) and A'aninin who spoke quite different languages but allied with or joined the Blackfoot Confederacy.
The Kainai Nation is a First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 12,800 members in 2015, up from 11,791 in December 2013.
The Blackfoot language, also called Siksiká, often anglicised as Siksika, is an Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot or Niitsitapi people, who currently live in the northwestern plains of North America. There are four dialects, three of which are spoken in Alberta, Canada, and one of which is spoken in the United States: Siksiká (Blackfoot), to the southeast of Calgary, Alberta; Kainai, spoken in Alberta between Cardston and Lethbridge; Aapátohsipikani, to the west of Fort MacLeod which is Brocket (Piikani) and Aamsskáápipikani, in northwestern Montana. The name Blackfoot probably comes from the blackened soles of the leather shoes that the people wore.
The Siksika Nation is a First Nation in southern Alberta, Canada. The name Siksiká comes from the Blackfoot words sik (black) and iká (foot), with a connector s between the two words. The plural form of Siksiká is Siksikáwa. The Siksikáwa are the northernmost of the Niitsítapi, all of whom speak dialects of Blackfoot, an Algonquian language.
The Pi'ikanni Nation is a First Nation, representing the Indigenous people in Canada known as the Northern Piikani or simply the Peigan.
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Treaty 7 is an agreement between the Crown and several, mainly Blackfoot, First Nation band governments in what is today the southern portion of Alberta. The idea of developing treaties for Blackfoot lands was brought to Blackfoot chief Crowfoot by John McDougall in 1875. It was concluded on September 22, 1877, and December 4, 1877. The agreement was signed at the Blackfoot Crossing of the Bow River, at the present-day Siksika Nation reserve, approximately 75 km (47 mi) east of Calgary, Alberta. Chief Crowfoot was one of the signatories to Treaty 7. Another signing on this treaty occurred on December 4, 1877, to accommodate some Blackfoot leaders who were not present at the primary September 1877 signing.
First Nations in Alberta are a group of people who live in the Canadian province of Alberta. The First Nations are peoples recognized as Indigenous peoples or Plains Indians in Canada excluding the Inuit and the Métis. According to the 2011 Census, a population of 116,670 Albertans self-identified as First Nations. Specifically there were 96,730 First Nations people with registered Indian Status and 19,945 First Nations people without registered Indian Status. Alberta has the third largest First Nations population among the provinces and territories. From this total population, 47.3% of the population lives on an Indian reserve and the other 52.7% live in urban centres. According to the 2011 Census, the First Nations population in Edmonton totalled at 31,780, which is the second highest for any city in Canada. The First Nations population in Calgary, in reference to the 2011 Census, totalled at 17,040. There are 48 First Nations or "bands" in Alberta, belonging to nine different ethnic groups or "tribes" based on their ancestral languages.
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