Battle of Belly River Heritage Site Management Plan

The Battle of the Belly River occurred in 1870 in what is now the city of Lethbridge’s river valley. This National Historic Event is recognised as the last major battle between First Nations in Canada. Building on the work of the 2023 City of Lethbridge Heritage Management Plan and the Battle of the Belly River Research Project, this project will deliver a site-specific Heritage Site Management Plan for the ongoing management of the battle site.

Between 2021-2022, the City of Lethbridge worked alongside the Consultation Offices of the Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation, and the Siksika Nation, and the Métis Nation of Alberta Lethbridge and Area to update the City of Lethbridge Heritage Management Plan. The overarching aim of this work was to identify and create recommendations or guiding principles that indicate the desired approach to identify, assess, preserve, interpret and commemorate Indigenous heritage (including cultural landscapes) found in Lethbridge; develop and identify recommendations with respect to the continued access and use of designated sites by Indigenous peoples for traditional and cultural activities, and develop and identify recommended protocols for municipal designation (or other methods of recognition and protection) of Indigenous heritage (including cultural landscapes) found in Lethbridge. The intent was that the information gained would inform a Final Report identifying and clearly outlining findings that could be submitted to the City of Lethbridge for use in drafting the updated (2023) Heritage Management Plan.

During discussions on the plan, the City heard from the partnering Nations that there was additional work that needed to be completed before all of the aforementioned approaches could be developed. This led to the updated Heritage Management Plan being crafted as a framework to establish the need and direction for this follow-on work with the Nations. The updated Heritage Management Plan was adopted by City Council in March 2023.

This project will implement Action 4 of the City of Lethbridge Heritage Management Plan by working with the Kainai, Piikani and Siksika Nations to create a Heritage Site Management Plan for the Battle of the Belly River Site. The project will allow the City and the Nations to gain experience working together to manage an Indigenous heritage site within city boundaries. It will also establish a foundation for future heritage management work within the city. It will be used to help formulate more general guiding principles and protocols for Indigenous heritage management in Lethbridge.