Kiyiu

Kiyiu lies on the Saskatchewan plains, where grassland meets parkland and wooded valleys drop toward the rivers. Blackfoot (Siksika) bands ranged across this country, following bison herds in summer and sheltering in the river valleys in winter. Cree and Assiniboine people also hunted here and traded at the edges of the plains. Pemmican made from dried meat and berries fed travellers across the open country, and by the early nineteenth century fur traders had established contact with these bands, bringing guns, kettles and blankets in exchange for hides.