The Whiteshell Museum in Whiteshell Provincial Park, opened in June 1960 and located in a log building, features mounted wildlife displays of local animals. Other displays feature the boreal forest, Canadian Aboriginal peoples, petroforms, sturgeon, and the Winnipeg River. Nearby are plaques erected by the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba on “Old Copper” and Wild Ricing in Manitoba.
The prehistoric manufacture of tools, weapons, and ornaments from native copper was a tradition that was introduced into Manitoba at least 4,000 years ago. The raw metal came from lands about the shores of Lake Superior. The copper was hammered into shape using stone cobbles and mallets. Occasional exposure to heat during manufacturing rendered the material less brittle. While many finished artifacts were no doubt traded or carried into Manitoba from elsewhere, others were made locally by craftsmen who acquired the raw metal from its place of origin to the southeast. Old copper artifacts have been found in the boreal forest, aspen parkland, and grasslands of southern Manitoba, including in the Indigenous burial mounds at Star Mound. The Red and Winnipeg rivers are believed to have been critical links in the major trade and migration routes from the heartland of Old Copper culture in Wisconsin.\
The original was closed in 2017, due to structural deficiencies, and a new museum was intended to replace it. At the time of a 2023 site visit, no such building had been built.
Whiteshell Museum (March 2017)
Source: George Penner
Old Copper commemorative plaque at the Whiteshell Museum (March 2017)
Source: George Penner
The former Whiteshell Museum (August 2023)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.14231, W95.68920
denoted by symbol on the map above
History and Folklore of the Whiteshell Park North by Anne Cott, 1991, page 27.
We thank Ed Ledohowski for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by George Penner and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 August 2023
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