Saskatchewan has an undeserved reputation as a flat and featureless expanse of prairie. In truth, the northern half of the province is covered with lakes and forests where fishing and campfires lure the city-weary traveler. The central parkland is a delight of rolling hills and aspen groves, the perfect place for trail riding in summer and cross-country skiing in winter.
Even in the south of the province, which is part of the Great Plains stretching up from Texas, the wide-open landscape conceals gems of diverse topography, historical curiosities and welcoming towns.
Take museums, for instance: Nearly every community in the province has its own collection of historical exhibits, such as Weyburn, home to the largest collection of silver wares in North America, with stunning pieces dating to the great houses of pre-Victorian England. Maple Creek has not one but two museums dedicated to ranching and cowboy life of olden times. Fort Carlton is a living museum to the fur trade. These small facilities, along with the many larger museums and living-history sites, make Saskatchewan a great stop for those interested in Native American culture and the history of western Canada.
Saskatchewan is a paradise for hunting and fishing enthusiasts—several world records have been broken there. There's a wide variety of game—ducks, geese, deer, bison, moose, northern pike, walleye and rainbow trout—and hundreds of outfitters to help you collar them. The most northerly fishing lodge, reached only by airplane, sits near the Four Corners, where the border of Saskatchewan meets that of Manitoba, NW Territories and Nunavut.
All that expansiveness gives Saskatchewan one of its best features—its expressive skies—whether you're watching a mighty thunderhead roll in from the west or lying on a rock beneath the dancing northern lights.
Geographically, the southern half of the province is farmland and prairie grasslands mixed with rolling hills, patches of woods and large lakes. The northern portion is situated on the Canadian Shield—a large mass of Precambrian rock. The province has countless lakes as well as untouched boreal forest crisscrossed by rivers. The southwest corner is a geographic anomaly, where the forested Cypress Hills (a sacred place to ancient tribes) tower over the gentle prairie.
The area's excellent hunting and fishing sustained the first people in what would become Saskatchewan. In time, the Plains Ojibwa, Assiniboine and Plains Cree became the prominent groups in the south, all of them seminomadic bison hunters. To the north, in the western subarctic region, the Slave and Dene people were primarily caribou hunters who supplemented their diet with musk ox, moose, arctic hare and fish. They lived in skin or bark houses (not unlike the tepee, but more rounded) in semipermanent settlements.
The first European to see Saskatchewan was the English explorer Henry Kelsey, who arrived in the 1690s. The fur trade soon attracted others, and the Hudson's Bay Company began to establish its dominion over great stretches of territory. Eventually, permanent settlements began to spring up in the south, as farmers and ranchers tried their luck on the prairie, especially after the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s.
But the late 1800s were a lawless time in the territory: Bands of outlaws frequently crossed the border from the U.S. to stir up trouble and escape the law. The North West Mounted Police force was established to maintain peace in the region. In 1876, after the Battle of Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull and his people sought refuge on this side of the Medicine Line, and some of their descendants still live there. 1885 saw the Northwest Rebellion, an armed uprising led by Louis Riel that was intended to defend the land rights of the Metis (people of mixed French and aboriginal heritage).
Finally, in 1905, Saskatchewan became a province. Under the visionary premier Tommy Douglas, the universal system of Medicare was first introduced, now the pride of Canadians from coast to coast. Today, farming and ranching are still big businesses there, although increasing costs and lower grain prices have created tough economic conditions for farmers in recent years. Oil and mining, construction, manufacturing, high-technology industries, service-oriented businesses and tourism also boost the region's economic profile. Recent gold and diamond exploration fuels the imagination with more riches from the earth.
Among Saskatchewan's main attractions are wildlife, pioneer forts, gorgeous sunsets, Regina, Saskatoon, Ukrainian onion-domed churches, Native American culture, hunting, fishing, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Centennial Museum, hiking, canoeing and quaint museums on frontier life.
Travelers who are interested in history, outdoor activities and wide-open spaces will enjoy their visit to Saskatchewan. Those who are looking for mountainous scenery or the rapid pace and diverse attractions of big cities may find the province less to their liking.
The name Saskatchewan comes from the Cree for "swift flowing" and was first given to two major rivers (the North and South Saskatchewan) before it was applied to the province. Saskatoon is named for a berry, which the Cree called
misaskwatomin. Visitors to Saskatchewan are easily identified because they usually mispronounce the name—to sound like a native say: sa-SKATCH-e-win.
Regina was originally called "Pile O' Bones" for the heaps of buffalo skeletons discovered there by the first white settlers.
Saskatchewan is home to the oldest designated bird sanctuary in North America, located at the north end of Last Mountain Lake. Bird watchers come from all over to see the endangered whooping crane. You can get tips on where to spot them from the Canadian Wildlife Service in Saskatoon. Many travelers like to spot Saskatchewan's "big things"—huge man-made mascots that grace the highways, such as the world's largest coffee pot at Davidson, the giant tomahawk at Cutknife and the turtle at Turtleford.
Saskatchewan has almost half the farmland in all of Canada, producing the bulk of the country's wheat, canola, lentils and peas. Honeybees are more productive in Saskatchewan than anywhere else in North America, largely because of the vast fields of flowering crops.
In 1944, Saskatchewan became the first province or state in North America to elect a socialist government.
