Generally regarded as the birthplace of Canada’s National Park system, the Cave and Basin National Historic Site marks one of a series of naturally occurring hot springs which held significant meanings for local Indigenous peoples for many centuries before the arrival of Europeans. Located near the Banff townsite, this particular hot springs is just one of many in the surrounding area that represented a place of healing, medicine, and cultural celebration for the Nakoda communities. Nakoda peoples believed there was a Great Spirit who lived in the waters of the hot springs and that bathing in the water could heal them. The lands surrounding the hot springs provided herbal medicines for the Nakoda to gather. Sacred events were held at the springs, including marriage and initiation ceremonies (which marked the achievement of adulthood by young men and women). The springs were also used as an important meeting location.
However, the ‘discovery’ of the hot springs by non-Indigenous tourist personnel marred the cultural significance of the hot springs for Nakoda peoples. the spiritual healing power of the springs is gone, and the development of the springs into tourist destinations removed the Nakoda peoples ability to gather medicinal plants and use the areas as meeting and celebration sites (Mason, 2014, p. 50-52).
In addition to the mineral springs and emerald coloured basin, the site now features interactive exhibits which detail the formation of Canada’s national parks from a European-Canadian perspective. In traditional colonial fashion, tourists learn of the ‘discovery’ of the hot springs by three European railway workers in 1883. A gift shop, café, picnic tables, and 7 kms of walking trails, along with an after-hours lantern tour really creates a truly colonial experience of what was once a sacred cultural site.
Mason, C. W. (2014). Spirits of the Rockies: Reasserting an Indigenous Presence in Banff National Park. University of Toronto Press.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/ab/caveandbasin/activ/visite-tour.aspx
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