The Nakoda, Siksika, Tsuu t’ina, Ktunaxa, Piikani, Atsina, Kainai, Nehiyawak Nations existed on Turtle Island time immemorial, before explorers, traders and settlers came to the area. Already part of their life, there was a vast network of trading between Nations. ~In 1790 Peter Pangman, explorer and trader for the North West Company, traveled from the Edmonton Posts, ( which at that time were the most Westerly point of the fur trade), up the North Saskatchewan River to five miles past the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers. There, on a tree, he carved his intials, marking the spot he thought best for a new post, Rocky Mountain House. Eager to gain access to Euorpean goods like tea, firearms, gunpowder, axes, glass beads, copper pots and more the local First Nations supported the venture.
