Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

Boulder Mosaics

While the exact cultural origin of the boulder figures laid out on the tablerock of the Whiteshell is unknown, they are believed to be prehistoric, and may represent the ritual activity of Algonkian speaking groups. The turtles, snakes, humans and geometrics represented here cover nearly the full range of variation in North American sites of this kind. For this reason, and because of the limited styles of effigies which occur elsewhere, it may be that this phenomenon was diffused outward from the Whiteshell, particularly south and west through Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, Montana and Alberta.