Whiteshell Petroforms

Authentic Indigenous tours and land-based learning in the Heart of Turtle Island: Manitoba, Canada.

Join us on a guided walk through the boreal forest as we visit a sacred petroform site: rocks and boulders arranged by Indigenous peoples over millennia. Hear stories, histories, and teachings from local Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, who have shared welcomed visitors to this area for thousands of years. Connect to perspectives and energies bigger than ourselves.

Whiteshell Petroforms

Authentic Indigenous tours and land-based learning in the Heart of Turtle Island: Manitoba, Canada.

Join us on a guided walk through the boreal forest as we visit a sacred petroform site: rocks and boulders arranged by Indigenous peoples over millennia. Hear stories, histories, and teachings from local Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, who have shared welcomed visitors to this area for thousands of years. Connect to perspectives and energies bigger than ourselves.

Discover the Centre of Turtle Island in the Whiteshell Provincial Park

Located less than a 2-hour drive east of downtown Winnipeg you’ll find Whiteshell Provincial Park located on the Manitoba/Ontario border and geographically in the centre of Turtle Island (North America). The park is called Whiteshell after the sacred white cowrie shell used by Anishinaabe people in many ceremonies to this day.

Whiteshell Provincial Park is a beautifully preserved park space spanning more than 2,500 sq km and known for its numerous lakes, rivers, forests, and rugged, rocky terrain. Throughout the park you will find many movable rocks and boulders left behind after the most recent ice age, and Indigenous peoples made use of these boulders to create petroforms: placements of stones in the form of circles, turtles, serpents, water creatures, women formations and many others as a tool to educate, tell stories, and record history. We continue to learn from these ancient knowledges today.

For tens of thousands of years, a number of Indigenous nations lived in, crossed through and travelled throughout the areas we now call Manitoba and Canada. Today Whiteshell Provincial Park is well-known as cottage country for thousands of visitors, campers and hikers, but Indigenous peoples from many nations have been living in this region for tens of thousands of years. While the petroform site has been named the Bannock Point Petroforms, many still acknowledge the site as its original name in Anishinaabemowin (the Ojibwe language) as Manidoo-Abi, translated to English as “Where the Spirit Sits.”

About Diane Maytwayashing, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper

 “The Petroforms have revived my life in many realms, and in return for this legacy, it is my responsibility to share this knowledge with the people.”

My name is Diane Maytwayashing. I am an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper and the Heritage Interpreter of the Whiteshell Petroforms. The Petroforms are stones or boulders shaped into patterns by Indigenous ancestors. The Bannock Point Petroforms are to be found in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

I live with my family in the town of Seven Sisters Falls, in the Whiteshell area. I am Anishinaabe with Scottish ancestry, a mother of four children, a grandmother of four grandchildren, and I am in a partnership with a gentleman.

The story of how I became a Knowledge Keeper of the Petroforms is not a romantic narrative, but rather, my knowledge came out of great despair.

At a time in my life when I was in desperation, with no sense of purpose, my friend, Leonard Martin, suggested we take a drive out to Whiteshell Provincial Park, a day trip to visit a special place. I did not know it then, but this place would forever change my life.

Read More

About Diane Maytwayashing, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper

My name is Diane Maytwayashing. I am an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper and the Heritage Interpreter of the Whiteshell Petroforms. The Petroforms are stones or boulders shaped into patterns by Indigenous ancestors. The Bannock Point Petroforms are to be found in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

I live with my family in the town of Seven Sisters Falls, in the Whiteshell area. I am Anishinaabe with Scottish ancestry, a mother of four children, a grandmother of four grandchildren, and I am in a partnership with a gentleman.

The story of how I became a Knowledge Keeper of the Petroforms is not a romantic narrative, but rather, my knowledge came out of great despair.

At a time in my life when I was in desperation, with no sense of purpose, my friend, Leonard Martin, suggested we take a drive out to Whiteshell Provincial Park, a day trip to visit a special place. I did not know it then, but this place would forever change my life.

Read More

 “The Petroforms have revived my life in many realms, and in return for this legacy, it is my responsibility to share this knowledge with the people.”

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About the Petroforms

Discover the ancient past and ancestral spirit of the Whiteshell Petroforms. Take a tour or schedule a workshop for a life-changing experience! Tours are offered from an authentic Indigenous perspective of the Petroforms in Whiteshell Provincial Park: Manitoba, Canada. These guided tours are essentially for Educators, Schools, Universities, Colleges, families, and interested groups.

Aki (Earth)

Learn about the mythology of Sky Woman Petroform. How the woman who came from the sky parallels with the Anishinaabe Creation Story.

Nibi (Water)

The design of Whiteshell Petroform tours is intended for educational purposes. Although, it can be a spiritual experience for those who are open to a deeper understanding of this ancient site.

Manitou (Spirit)

Knowledge of these Petroforms can be a life-changing experience for those who are seeking wisdom from an Indigenous perspective.

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

About the Petroforms

Discover the ancient past and ancestral spirit of the Whiteshell Petroforms. Take a tour or schedule a workshop for a life-changing experience! Tours are offered from an authentic Indigenous perspective of the Petroforms in Whiteshell Provincial Park: Manitoba, Canada. These guided tours are essentially for Educators, Schools, Universities, Colleges, families, and interested groups.

Aki (Earth)

Learn about the mythology of Sky Woman Petroform. How the woman who came from the sky parallels with the Anishinaabe Creation Story.

COMING SOON

Nibi (Water)

The design of Whiteshell Petroform tours is intended for educational purposes. Although, it can be a spiritual experience for those who are open to a deeper understanding of this ancient site.

COMING SOON

Manitou (Spirit)

Knowledge of these Petroforms can be a life-changing experience for those who are seeking wisdom from an Indigenous perspective.

COMING SOON

Contact Diane

I would love to hear from you! Contact me if you want more information about the Petroforms, tours, or workshops.

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