Module 3 Post 3
My hometown, Okotoks. The name Okotoks comes from a Siksikáí’powahsin word meaning “rock.” Before European settlement, the Siksika used a crossing point on the Sheep River where the town now stands. The name may have referred to the large block of rock that sits on the otherwise flat prairie west of the town. Known as Big Rock, it was transported by the continental glacier of the last ice age, likely from Mount Edith Cavell. Geologists call this feature a glacial erratic.
There are many places in Alberta and Canada that have names of Indigenous origins, and this is a very powerful way to engage all learners while including Indigenous perspectives. Here are a few sources that can be used to identify Indigenous named places:
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/stoney-tribal-administration-alberta-calgary-names-1.4403132
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_place_names_in_Canada_of_Indigenous_origin#Alberta
- https://umanitoba.ca/student/indigenous/media/24_Place_Names.pdf
My Module 3, Post 2 has a video related to the big rock, which I will include here also for ease:
The link above tells how the Big Rock, outside Okotoks, is connected to the Blackfoot creation story. This is a location where the world began; where supernatural mischief-maker Napi was pursued by the rock as he traveled from south to north, creating the mountains and rivers.