Forgotten Dreams: A New look at Ancient Rock Art Sites
Forgotten Dreams recounts tales of epic journeys, great battles and spiritual activities as told by Indigenous Elders
Discover the Magic of Forgotten Dreams
“To me, what these paintings represent, they represent me. Who I am. They represent my people. They represent my ancestors. For all people, especially the people of my own nation, it is worth it to come and visit a pictograph site. Bring an offering. The spirits are still here. They will always be here. It is those who seek the spirits in their natural setting who are often lucky enough to hear a little bit back from them.” Piikani First Nation Elder Harley Bastien
Indigenous Knowledge from The Elders
Cranbrook Daily Townsman
Author explores ancient Indigenous art of rock painting - Cranbrook Daily Townsman
A new book authored by Canadian archaeologist Brad Himour explores the meaning of ancient Indigenous rock art. It is the result of fifteen years of interviews with Indigenous Elders in Alberta and British Columbia.
APTN Windspeaker News
APTN Windspeaker News
Fort Macleod Gazzette
New book explores ancient rock art
Staff Writer, MACLEOD GAZETTE | Posted on March 13 2025
A new book celebrates Indigenous cultural awareness and diversity.
Forgotten Dreams: A New Look at Ancient Rock Art Sites combines Indigenous knowledge and western science to explore the meaning of rock paintings, or pictographs, in western Canada.
Author Brad Himour, an archaeologist, Indigenous liaison and writer who lives in Calgary, said there are as many different cultural traditions about pictograph sites as there are Indigenous languages in Canada — more than 200 in all.
Over the past 15 years, Himour collaborated with elders from the Piikani Nation and Secwe̓ pemc (Shuswap Band). Together, they were able to photograph and interpret more than 20 pictograph sites in southern Alberta and British Columbia.
Himour said the braiding of Indigenous knowledge and western science is what made the project successful. “Many of these amazing cultural sites are in very remote locations,” Himour said. “Often, they are nearly invisible to the naked eye. By visiting each site and digitally enhancing the photographs, it was possible to give the elders much clearer images to interpret.”
Forgotten Dreams recounts tales of epic journeys, great battles and spiritual activities that both educate and fascinate. In the words of Secwepemc (Shuswap Band) elders Xavier and Marge Eugene, “Indigenous storytelling, or stseptékwle, includes myths and legends of fairy tales, hunting tales, warrior tales, information on our gathering places and often our ’spirit stories’ gained from a vision quest or ceremony. There is always a story behind a pictograph.”
For Piikani Nation elders Morris Little Wolf and Harley Bastien, pictograph sites are a record of cultural events that extend back for thousands of years. “To me, what these paintings represent, they represent me,” Bastien said. “Who I am. They represent my people. They represent my ancestors. For all people, especially the people of my own nation, it is worth it to come and visit a pictograph site. Bring an offering. The spirits are still here. They will always be here.”
Himour said it was important to recognize that there are many other Indigenous cultures, including Stoney Nakoda, Tsuut’ina, Ktunaxa and Metis communities, that have their own cultural stories and traditions related to many of the same pictograph sites.
“It’s fair to say that our effort represents a very small sample of the many unique Indigenous cultures in the region,” Himour said. “My hope is that this book will help inspire Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to learn more about the incredible cultural diversity of Indigenous rock art across Canada.”
Promoting education, cultural preservation and Indigenous reconciliation were the primary reasons Secwe pemc elders Xavier and Marge Eugene participated in the project.
“This is how our people wrote their history on the landscape. We thought much of it had been lost. Now, we want to pass on that beautiful legacy to future generations.” Himour emphasized the cornerstone of his successful collaboration with the elders was mutual respect. He was instructed to leave the sites as he found them, place a small offering of tobacco as a “thank you’” for the opportunity to photograph them, and to understand there are many different cultural protocols related to pictographs, even within the same community.
In the words of Piikani Nation elder Morris Little Wolf, “The right to use the information gathered from the elders needs to come from the individual. If an individual contributes information, he or she will be the one who gives you the rights to use their words and stories.”
You can learn more about these amazing cultural masterpieces, including how the paint was applied to the rock face and what organic ingredients were used to create rock paintings that lasted for thousands of years at:
forgottendreamspictographs.com.