Manitoba Fort Launches Guided, Hands-On Experiences

By NPT Staff - June 7th, 2022

Historic weapon demonstrations will be offered at Lower Fort Garry/Parks Canada

Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site has reopened for the 2022 season and has guides ready to escort visitors back in time to experience the booming 1850s fur trade era with hands-on history they can taste, touch and feel.

On top of self-guided and specialized tours, new and reimagined activities will be offered at the Manitoba site this summer.

Under the guidance of costumed interpreters, visitors can do things like whip up a batch of heritage hot chocolate, tap into their inner blacksmith and try their hand at making authentic 19th-century candles. To learn of the daily duties that once kept the Fort bustling, traditional techniques for wool processing, fur treating and hearth cooking will be presented throughout each week. Historic weaponry demonstrations will be held where visitors can learn about the types of trade guns used at the Fort, “culminating in the resounding crack of black powder and a fragrant plume of smoke.”

Lower Fort Garry visitors can learn about traditional techniques for processing wool/Parks Canada

The Fort will offer numerous Indigenous cultural presentations, including:
• An evening with Ian Ross, author of Joe from Winnipeg.
• A film screening of We Were Children, followed by a question-and-answer session with producer Lisa Meeches.
• Traditional weaving demonstrations of bullrush (cattail) mats and willow baskets with Chris Wabie who was part of the team that built the wigwam structures at gabeshiwin (the site's camp area) last summer.

The annual Treaty One Commemoration event on Aug. 3 honors the traditional ties that local First Nations people have with the site where Treaty No. 1 was signed more than 150 years ago.

On the west bank of the Red River, 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Winnipeg, Lower Fort Garry’s sturdy stone fort marks a turning point in Canada’s history with the signing of Treaty No. 1, the first of the numbered treaties.

The Fort was home to the Hudson’s Bay Co. and a hub for the First Nations trappers and Hudson's Bay traders who helped build modern western Canada. Dating back to the 1830s, the original buildings still stand, ringed by limestone walls and faithfully restored by Parks Canada.

Electric vehicle charging stations are available.

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Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site

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