By Bre McAdam

VIDEO: Sask. crew discovers sacred rock in Lake Diefenbaker

Aug 28, 2014 | 5:39 PM

The search for what's left of a sacred boulder in Lake Diefenbaker was a success.

In July, we spoke to Saskatoon filmmaker Steven Thair about his documentary on the quest for — and story behind –the Buffalo Child Stone. Many aboriginal tribes considered the 400-tonne boulder to be a spiritual site, and protested its destruction in order to make room for the construction of Lake Diefenbaker. But in 1966, the federal government filled it with explosives and blew the rock apart before it was submerged underwater.

Nearly 50 years later on July 19, Thair and his team scoped out the coordinates of where the giant rock used to sit using side scan sonar. They detected a pile of fragments approximately 24 kilometres south of Elbow, near Douglas Provincial Park. Thair dived the 21-meter deep site on Aug. 13 and said he found the jagged remnants of Buffalo Child Stone merely minutes after reaching the bottom.

“What we found was a pile of rocks that's eight feet high and maybe 20 to 30 feet across, and there's nothing else like that around there, I mean it's unmistakable. There's no question that's what it is,” Thair said, adding he would still be interested in comparing it to pieces of the boulder that were salvaged before the lake was built.

“Although we were 99.9 per cent certain we had found the correct site with sonar, it was great confirmation to actually touch the rock.”

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Thair recalled how Tyrone Tootoosis, an aboriginal advisor who was present during the search, said he was honoured to be one of the first people to touch fragments of the stone since it was lost underwater. His father, Wilfred Tootoosis, was involved with trying to save the rock in the 1960s.

“This sacred rock being destroyed, it’s not the first time that’s happened. Now that we are aware of what has happened here in this country in the last 100 some years, we don’t want to see it happen again. I mean, it would be akin to dynamiting Stonehenge because there was going to be a building put there,” Tootoosis said.

“I think people would have a better idea of what the rock means today, as it meant back then. It’s still relevant. It’s part of our history; it’s part of our country’s history.”

According to Thair, the discovery of the Buffalo Child Stone remains is a launching point for three story lines within the documentary: the modern-day significance of the site, the ancient story behind it and the discussion about where to go from here. He also hopes his film will start a conversation about government and aboriginal relations.

“There's still a very long way to go but I think once in a while we should stand back and acknowledge that we're a little more civilized than we were 50 years ago.”

Although he has collected most of the pieces for his documentary, Thair said it could still take up to two years to finish.

Check out the video below to see footage from Thair's dive.

bmcadam@rawlco.com

On Twitter: @breezybremc