Plans and policies

A management plan is a key instrument for ensuring that Parks Canada delivers on its commitments to the people of Canada. The process of management planning allows Aboriginal communities, stakeholders, partners, local residents and the public to have an effective voice in shaping the future of the site.

Management plan for Fort Walsh and Cypress Hills Massacre

Parks Canada is pleased to share the 2013 Management Plan for Fort Walsh and Cypress Hills Massacre National Historic Sites as well as the States of Sites Report 2009.  This management plan was developed based upon extensive public consultation and provides strategic direction for these national historic sites for the next 10 to 15 years.

• Management Plan 2013 (PDF  1.2 MB)
• State of Sites Report 2009 (PDF  4.3 MB)

From the Management Plan Executive Summary:

Fort Walsh National Historic Site of Canada (NHSC) and Cypress Hills NHSC are two of more than 2,000 places, people and events commemorated by the Government of Canada. Located near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, the two sites are adjacent and are directly linked in their history. This management plan serves both sites.

Fort Walsh NHSC's significance relates to the North-west Mounted Police post (1875-1883) and its role in enforcing law and order, and aiding the implementation of Canada's Aboriginal policy.  In addition, it played a key role in supervising the Lakota who fled to Canada with Tatanka Iyotanka (Sitting Bull) after the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Cypress Hills Massacre NHSC was designated in 2006 and commemorates the memory and legacy of the Nakoda people who died there at the hands of wolf hunters on June 1, 1873. The event spurred the Canadian government to hasten the dispatch of the North-west Mounted Police to the west to maintain law and order, and express Canada's sovereignty in the region.