Visiting The Viking Rib
Stones (Alberta)
Copyright: Dale Olausen 2023
The Viking Rib Stones are an interesting site from various points of view – ethnographic, archaeological, intercultural, indigenous, call it what you will.
I have visited this site on a number of occasions. It is a nice little half-day trip from Edmonton along some not-too-busy highways, culminating in a short drive through some pretty prairie secondary roads. This site is a little bit tricky to get to, as the province and the aboriginal groups want to maintain the site in a respectful way. However, there are directions available from a web search.
It’s worth the effort, especially if you have out-of-province visitors – I have found that our visitors to Alberta have always enjoyed the trip.
To begin with, I should note that the Viking Rib Stones have nothing to do with Vikings. They just happen to be located near the town of Viking, a community that was settled largely by Scandinavians early in the 20th century.
They are, in fact, an excellent example of native art that is found in many areas of Alberta. Of course they are more than just art – they have significant cultural and spiritual significance for aboriginal people.
In strictly physical terms, they consist of two large rocks ( a large rock and a smaller rock), made of quartzite. They are solitary boulders that were carried to this spot by glaciers during the ice ages, and left behind as the glaciers retreated. The geological term for this is glacial erratic.
Upon this rock many markings have been carved. These carvings are meant to represent the ribs of two buffalo. The location is considered to be the dwelling place of the protector of the buffalo (known as Old Man Buffalo). There are also pits carved into the stones, representing holes left by arrows or bullets. These were not thought to harm the Old Man Buffalo, but rather to pass right through. There is also an interpretation that these pit represent the steady pounding of buffalo hoofs over the ages, rather in the manner that the steady drip of water will wear a pit into stone over time.
People, primarily aboriginal people one assumes, leave various objects of veneration and personal significance on and around the Rib Stones. Metals such as coins or spent bullets are common, as are jewellery and other personal items. But other items are also sometimes left, such as photos, books or tools, whatever might be significant to the leaver. Tobacco is also common, given its historical cultural significance to natives.
The Rib Stones site also has a nearly copse of trees, where aboriginal people have tied strips of cloth to these trees (known as prayer cloths), left as offerings to the spirits of the ancestors. The fencing around the little site might also used for this purpose.
The area surrounding the site, which has a small fence to enclose it, is left in a natural state, with grasses and wildflowers predominating.
A very large meteorite, known in English as the Iron Creek Meteorite, fell around here, at a location about 40 kilometers away, called Strawsack Hill. The configuration of the Rib Stones is thought to be aligned in such a way that it points to this location. It is also thought that some aspects of the meteorite are actually represented in the Rib Stones.
It is about half a meter in diameter, almost entirely composed of iron, and is considered to be a sacred object by the native population, the “father of meteorites”. It is thought to come from the gods or sky-people, a sort of visitor to the Earth, and therefore of great spiritual value. Native culture has a lot of tradition related to the sky and the stars, as might be expected given the big sky of the prairies and the dark nights of eras before electric lighting.
This meteorite rested on a high hill nearby, until the later 1800s when it was taken by missionaries and later claimed by researchers in various locations (including the University of Toronto). It was returned to Alberta in the early 1970s and has spent many decades at the Royal Alberta Museum, in Edmonton. There is a plan to return it to its original location, near this site, though the details are still being negotiated. According to the website of the Royal Alberta Museum there is a centre to be built at the site, so it will still be housed in a building. In that sense, it won’t really be returned to its ancestral state, but I suppose it would be too tempting a prize for all sorts of people if it was just dropped on the prairie.
Besides the Rib Stones, the site itself is very scenic, on a hill that commands a sweeping vista of the surround rolling prairie. There is a small parking lot, some signage, and the fenced in Rib Stones site (a low wooden fence, no gate, more to define the site than keep people out). It goes without saying that visitors should be respectful of the Rib Stones and the site in general.
After viewing the Rib Stones and associated area, one can stop in the nearby town of Viking, that has a homey little cafe and some other small-town tourist amenities (e.g. a Scandinavian "troll park", as Scandinavians have a thing for trolls, though the folklore type, not the internet type).
My dad (from Norway) homesteaded around here (the Iron Creek area) many decades ago, before going off to war and meeting his war bride, so I have a certain affinity for the area. On one trip to the area with my brother, the car window suddenly shattered. At first we thought someone might have been carelessly target shooting out in a field, but upon later reading I discovered that this isn’t that unusual an occurrence (lots of insurance claims are due to unexplained car window shattering). But it is nice to think that this might have been around the same spot as my dad’s homestead. You don’t have to be native to feel some sort of spiritual energy in the landscape.
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On the Road with Bronco Billy
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A Drive Across Newfoundland
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Newfoundland, Canada’s most easterly province, is a region that is both fascinating in its unique culture and amazing in its vistas of stark beauty. The weather is often wild, with coastal regions known for steep cliffs and crashing waves (though tranquil beaches exist too). The inland areas are primarily Precambrian shield, dominated by forests, rivers, rock formations, and abundant wildlife. The province also features some of the Earth’s most remarkable geology, notably The Tablelands, where the mantle rocks of the Earth’s interior have been exposed at the surface, permitting one to explore an almost alien landscape, an opportunity available on only a few scattered regions of the planet.
The city of St. John’s is one of Canada’s most unique urban
areas, with a population that maintains many old traditions and
cultural aspects of the British Isles. That’s true of the rest of
the province, as well, where the people are friendly and inclined to
chat amiably with visitors. Plus, they talk with amusing accents and
party hard, so what’s not to like?
This account focusses
on a two-week road trip in October 2007, from St. John’s in the
southeast, to L’Anse aux Meadows in the far northwest, the only
known Viking settlement in North America. It also features a day hike
visit to The Tablelands, a remarkable and majestic geological
feature. Even those who don’t normally consider themselves very
interested in geology will find themselves awe-struck by these
other-worldly landscapes.
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A Ride on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail: A Biking Journal Kindle Edition
by Dale Olausen (Author), Helena Puumala (Editor)
The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is one of the longest and most scenic
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The views are spectacular, the wildlife is plentiful and the people
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What follows is
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also sections containing a brief history of the trail, geology, flora
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After reading this account, you should have a good sense of whether the trail is right for you. If you do decide to ride the trail, it will be an experience you will never forget.
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