Destinations

A 5-Day Road Trip Through Indigenous Alberta

A new Métis cultural center and Indigenous-run offerings worth traversing Alberta for, from foraging to fireside chats.
car on road. sunset. sun streaming through trees. snow
Jay McDonald/Indigenous Tourism Canada/Jasper Tour Company

It’s easier than ever to find an authentic Indigenous tourism experience in Canada. On Indigenous People’s Day this June the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada launched a new designation, the Original Original, which identifies businesses that meet criteria that include being majority Indigenous-owned and operated. And the province of Alberta is home to many different Indigenous cultures, including 45 First Nations and over 85,000 Métis—a distinct group of people in Canada who have both Indigenous and European ancestry—all with their own unique history, culture, and traditions, making it a good place to get a taste of the range of Indigenous tourism in Canada.

With just a few days in Alberta, you can experience the province’s geographical diversity, from its mountains and prairies to urban landscapes, as well as the diversity of its Indigenous experiences, some of which might challenge stereotypes and your ideas about what an Indigenous tourism experience entails. From archery to contemporary art and a just-opened wildlife park, here's how to experience First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures in Alberta on a road trip via Calgary and Edmonton.

When to visit

Most visit during the warmer months to enjoy long days on the trails in Alberta’s national parks. A winter visit offers activities such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, but you’ll need a solid all-wheel drive vehicle with winter tires. Driving on the Icefield Parkway and David Thompson Highway is challenging in winter and should only be attempted by experienced, confident winter drivers.

Getting there

Fly into Calgary and check into Grey Eagle Resort and Casino, located on the Tsuut’ina Nation and minutes from downtown. You can explore the cultural history of the Tsuut’ina at the Tsuut'ina Nation Culture/Museum, view Inuit art at Transformation Fine Art, and shop for handmade items from more than 60 Indigenous artisans at Moonstone Creation. If time allows, drive an hour east to Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park to learn about Siksika First Nation culture. Have dinner at Grey Eagle’s Indigenous-influenced Little Chief Restaurant then call it an early night in preparation for the next few days. Starting from Edmonton is also an option if you prefer to jump straight to days three and four of this itinerary, and then loop back to days one and two via Calgary.

Field archery practice at Painted Warriors

Jay McDonald/Indigenous Tourism Canada/Painted Warriors

Day one: Archery and foraging

It’s just over an hour’s drive north to Painted Warriors Ranch in the foothills of the Rockies. Owner Tracey Klettl—who is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and once represented Canada at the world archery championships—teaches visitors how to use a bow and arrow. Guests can go on a simulated hunt using realistic foam targets in the shape of different animals, from elk to boar; targets are drawn onto the figures to show where to aim for a clean, ethical shot. It’s about reawakening and restoring that deep connection to the land that is at the heart of Indigenous cultures. “Every one of us, somewhere in the past, was a hunter, a gatherer,” says Klettl.

Klettl’s sister, Brenda Holder, operates Mahikan Tours, which offers plant medicine walks in nearby Sundre. She leads guests into the forest and shows how to recognize “the standing people,” gift-bearing plants, from yarrow to combat cold and flu to spruce needles that cure digestive issues.

Four-season glamping is offered in Painted Warrior’s roomy Métis-style trapper tents, which are outfitted with cozy wood stoves and surrounded by forest.

Warrior Women's Matricia Brown, a member of the First Nation Cree

Indigenous Tourism Canada/Warrior Women

Incense burns on a medicine walk offering by Warrior Women

Indigenous Tourism Canada/Warrior Women

Day two: National parks and fireside chats

After a hearty breakfast at Painted Warriors, head west and into the Rockies via Rocky Mountain House, a national historic site. Continue on the dramatic David Thompson Highway before joining the Icefield Parkway. A road trip in the Rockies would be incomplete without a drive on this epic stretch of road connecting Banff and Jasper National Parks. The double-lane highway winds along the Continental Divide past soaring mountain peaks and wide valleys, ancient glaciers, and emerald lakes. Give yourself plenty of time to stop for hikes and views—and fill up the tank beforehand.

Spend the night in the town of Jasper at First Nations–owned Sawridge Inn. If you time it right, you can catch a fireside chat with Warrior Women, a Cree mother and daughter drumming group who share their culture through stories and songs at the hotel and lead medicine walks on the land nearby. Matricia Brown says that she started offering these fireside chats because people kept approaching her “to have conversations [about Indigenous issues]. I wanted to give them a nice, safe place where they could do that.”

Jasper National Park walks led by Jasper Tour Company

Jay McDonald/Indigenous Tourism Canada/Jasper Tour Company

Day three: Wildlife hikes and Indigenous art

Get up early for a tour with Jasper Tour Company whose Métis owner, Joe Urie, runs morning Maligne Valley hiking tours. Urie offers a different perspective on the typical colonial narrative of Jasper National Park by talking about the land’s Indigenous history and using Indigenous names for the mountains, plants and wildlife you’ll see, such as môswa (moose) and asiniwaciwatihk (bighorn sheep). Urie’s goal is to get guests forging a connection with the landscape by putting their feet on the ground and awakening their “genetic memory” of the land.

Afterward, drive the three and a half hours to Edmonton, home to the second-largest urban Indigenous population in Canada, and traditionally known as Amiskwaciy Waskahikan, “Beaver Hills House” in Cree. You should have enough time to explore INIW River Lot 11, an Indigenous art park located in Queen Elizabeth Park overlooking the river valley and downtown. The park features six artworks by Indigenous artists, most striking of which is iskotew by Amy Malbeuf, a bright turquoise, pink and yellow sculptural representation of the word “fire” in Cree syllabics.

Also worth a visit, Whiskeyjack Art House, run by Cree artist Lana Whiskeyjack, hosts rotating exhibitions by contemporary artists and has an excellent small gift store selling bannock mix, jams, and other food items by Indigenous catering company Pei Pei Chei Ow. Spend the night at River Cree Resort and Casino, located on the Enoch Cree Nation, or Maskêkosak, “the land of medicine.”

Métis Crossing's Cultural Gathering Centre

Courtesy Métis Crossing

Day four: Métis Crossing cultural center

An hour and a half’s drive north of Edmonton, cultural interpretive center Métis Crossing lies on the original riverfront land of Métis settlers. Here you can dive into Métis culture by paddling a voyageur canoe and exploring the historical village. September saw a new addition to the center: a wildlife park filled with free-roaming bison (subspecies include plains, wood, and the rare white bison), as well as elk and Percheron horses.

Hunted to near-extinction by 19th-century settlers, buffalo haven't walked these lands in around 150 years. Visitors can learn how the species was an important part of the formation of the Métis Nation and how its restoration is foundational to the Nation’s future. You can fall asleep to the sound of howling coyotes in a traditional trapper tent overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, or stay in the new 40-room guest lodge, which opens in December. The center’s expansion continues with a new Indigenous-led stargazing program and three new cross-country ski trails created together with Spirit North, a non-profit organization founded and run by Olympic gold medallist Beckie Scott. Don’t leave without visiting the gift shop for handmade jewelry from Willow Rose Beads and other Métis artisans.

Métis-owned Talking Rock Tours educate visitors to Elk Island National Park

Indigenous Tourism Canada/Talking Rock Tours

Day five: Elk Island

Break up the four-hour return journey to Calgary with a visit to Elk Island National Park. The park’s rolling hills, grasslands, and lakes are home to an abundance of wildlife, including bison, elk, and black bears. Established just over a century ago, the protected national park helped save bison from disappearing in North America and to this day animals are sent to other North American parks to reestablish threatened populations. You can typically spot bison on the side of the road as you drive through. If you want to explore more deeply, book a geo-educational walking tour with Talking Rock Tours whose Métis owner/operator Keith Diakiw introduces guests to the park’s geology and Indigenous history.