Mossbank

Including the rural municipalities of Lake Johnston and Sutton, as well as several smaller centres, the Mossbank district is located about 45 minutes directly south of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. For over 200 years, the district has been at the crossroads of history, its residents have played many roles in provincial, national, and international events. While our history has been filled with prosperity and success, we also cannot ignore the fact that our ability to thrive in this district and in this country was a direct result of the harm done to First Nations peoples. While colonizers and their descendants have worked hard to make this community inclusive and accepting, this effort was not often extended to First Nations and other minorities. So, as you learn about our town, don’t forget their (very important) role in our society, and remember to educate yourself and amplify their voices whenever possible. Prior to European colonization, the hills and valleys around Old Wives Lake and Lake of the Rivers were home to many First Nations peoples; numerous tipi rings and other Indigenous artifacts have been found near both lakes. This territory was incredibly important to the surrounding populations, as the regular migration of bison through the area made it a valuable hunting ground. According to Métis guides who travelled with the North-West Mounted Police in 1874, there was a famous confrontation between the Cree and Blackfoot peoples near Old Wives Lake around 1840. Shortly before this time, raging prairie fires had driven the Cree peoples beyond their traditional hunting grounds, leading them closer to Blackfoot territory. For this reason, conflict grew between the two peoples, a conflict that eventually led to the naming of Old Wives Lake. The Métis guides claimed a small party of Blackfoot discovered a group of Cree from the Qu’Appelle Valley who were camped near the southeastern edge of the lake. Unfortunately, the Cree – travelling with their families, over-encumbered by their provisions – couldn’t get to safety before the Blackfoot returned with a larger party the next morning. To save the group, the elderly Cree women, anticipating the morning attack, offered to remain behind as a decoy, allowing the younger members to escape during the night. Anticipating correctly, the women saw the return of the Blackfoot that morning, who, enraged to see the camp empty, killed the women in vengeance. Despite their dismal fate, the Métis guides said the spirits of these women still inhabit the Isle of Bays in Old Wives Lake, where their laughter still taunts and mocks the Blackfoot. There is also the lesser-known origin story, the Legend of the Old Wife. This legend states that the more accurate translation of the lake’s name is Old Wife’s Lake, or Notukeu in Cree, typically translated as “old woman.” The name refers to the wife of a Chief (whether Cree or Sioux is no longer known) who was revered as a medicine woman. It’s said that she was buried on the Isle of Bays in the middle of the lake with grand splendour, in accordance with the rites of the tribe. She was dressed in her finest garments and sat with her feet on the ground. Her tools were placed in her hands, her most prized possessions placed around her, and a burial mound erected over her. Here, she solemnly continued her prophecies. Before going out to battle, the braves would kneel in a line on the edge of the lake with their eyes fixed in the direction of the burial site as they prayed and leaned inattentively. Soon, a voice rose from the island and, little by little, became louder than the noise of the waves. It was the medicine woman’s voice. If she sounded in pain, the braves would avoid war, but if the voice sang the “warrior’s hymn,” they would run towards the enemy certain of victory. The first Europeans to visit the Mossbank District were likely members of Capt. John Palliser’s survey expedition of 1857-58. By the 1860s, Indigenous presence in the district wa