page_title: Whiteshell Provincial Park
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Whiteshell Provincial Park / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Petroforms at Bannock Point in Whiteshell Provincial Park in Summer 2012.
context_page_description: Whiteshell Provincial Park is a 2,721 km² park centrally located in Canada in the province of Manitoba. It is found in the southeast region of the province along the Manitoba-Ontario boundary, approximately 130 km east of the city of Winnipeg. The park is located in the Canadian Shield region and has many rivers, remote lakes, boreal forest and bare granite ridges. It has rare archeological sites of petroforms on flat granite ridges. The park is used year-round for nature-oriented recreation activities.
  Whiteshell Provincial Park was designated a provincial park by the Government of Manitoba in 1961. The park is considered to be a Class II protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories.
context_section_description: The Ojibway people and various other groups before them initially populated the area. The Ojibway, or Anishinaabe, first mapped some of the area on birch bark. The name of the park is derived from the cowrie shells that were used in ceremonies by the Anishinaabe, including the Ojibway, and among them the Midewiwin practitioners.  The historic Winnipeg River and the Whiteshell River are the main rivers that run through the park.  For thousands of years, aboriginal peoples used the area for harvesting wild rice, hunting, fishing, trade, ceremonies, teaching, and dwelling.  In 1734, La Vérendrye was the first European to explore the area during his quest for a route to the Western Sea. First Nations, fur traders, and trappers used the Winnipeg River as the main travel route through this area, as well as the Whiteshell River.
  Whiteshell Provincial Park has many pink granite ridges, cliffs, and flat granite areas used for petroform making by First Nation peoples. There is also archaeological evidence of ancient copper trading, prehistoric quartz mining, and stone tool making in the area.  The copper trade, which extended toward Lake Superior, began approximately 6,000 years ago.  Many artifacts and prehistoric camps were discovered in Whiteshell Provincial Park and are protected under the Heritage Act of Manitoba. The park is still used by aboriginal peoples for wild rice harvesting and ceremonies.
  Around 1920, the development of roads brought tourists into the Whiteshell area. The first summer cottages were close to the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway. In 1922 Brereton Lake Dominion Park was created. A decade later and in 1930 the park was transferred to the province of Manitoba and established the Whiteshell Forest Reserve. Further roadwork continued, linking the reserve to Ontario in the east and campgrounds and picnic sites further north. In 1961, Whiteshell was given Provincial Park status. A Manitoba Historical Plaque was erected at the Whiteshell Provincial Park by the province to commemorate Dawson Road's role in Manitoba's heritage.
caption: The Bannock Point petroform site
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