ÎYARHE NAKODA – Dark clouds swell above the foothills surrounding the McDougall Memorial United Church, but the promise of rain doesn’t move elder Virgle Stephens.
On the edge of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, Stephens sits in the grass at the site of historic Morleyville where his ancestors used to camp years ago.
“Today it’s a good day,” he says, his voice carrying above the downpour to the crowd gathered around a teepee frame.
“Building relationships is part of our life and we have to show by example,” he continues.
Relationships are what have led to the opening celebration of The Morleyville: Stories of the Land and People Interpretive Trail on June 27 that started with a partnership between the McDougall Stoney Mission Society and a group of Stoney elders, including Stephens, in 2021.
“[The trail] came out of the idea of building relationships,” said Anna Rebus, the project historian.
“It grew out of listening. And we would actually come to the site and just sit, even in all kinds of weather. It didn’t matter. We would come in December, and we would just sit outside, and we would just talk.”
From Highway 1A, it’s hard to miss the one-room church that was once the heart of Southern Alberta’s first pioneer settlement, Morleyville.
More than 150 years later, two stories remain at the historical site.
“This is a prominent historic site on the landscape. You can see it. It’s here. I think it’s important for visitors to understand that the Stoney have always been here,” said Rebus.
“Because we have a permanent structure, we can see it and tell the settler story, but it’s the Indigenous voices that we need to connect people to in different ways, such as this interpretive trail.”
Winding from the parking lot and around the McDougall Church, the interpretive trail, through signs in both English and Stoney, tells the story of the people who once called the area home.
“Working with our sages taught us early on that a process of true reconciliation and authentic storytelling cannot be rushed. We want to get these messages, these storylines and the spirit of this land right. We have woven your wise words and profound teachings directly into these 18 panels,” Rebus said during her address to the crowd.
Continuing through a grove of aspen trees and to the Bow River below, impressions in the grass and stone rubble from the foundations of old buildings are evidence of the Morleyville townsite that was established in 1874 and eventually abandoned in 1921.
“We’re telling people’s stories. This is not just about this is an old foundation, this is the stories of people,” said Rebus.
A shared history
Before the land was ever known as Morleyville, the area was a traditional Stoney camping spot, Stephens says.
“Morleyville, that’s after the political name, after settlers come to this part of the country. Before, this was one of our original base camps,” he said, adding that his ancestors helped build the church.
“Our ancestors worked with the McDougalls when they came here, and now we have to keep that going, the relationship, the friendship. That’s our way, our culture.”
Arriving in Alberta in 1873 as missionaries, the McDougall family started building the church and established the Morleyville Settlement a year later. Soon the North West Mounted Police would arrive and the area became home to more than 200 people.
“We had a religion before the Bible came to this part. To this day, we still practice that religion and when the missionaries came, we knew about what they were talking about. Even though we can’t speak English, it was our spirituality. We understood,” Stephens said.
While there was friendship, not all of the Indigenous-settler shared history is easy to revisit, Stephens says.
“They told us to get rid of all our items, burn some of our drums but we kept it,” he said.
“Now today’s society is beginning to understand the religion of the Indigenous people.”
Stephens believes that education, building relationship and preserving the Stoney language are important for moving forward.
“Your culture, your traditional way is connected to your language,” he said.
“Now that we can speak English, and with the truth and reconciliation, we have to speak the truth in order that what’s in the past doesn’t happen in the future. That’s our work. It’s very important.”
“The project has been a journey of relational interpretation. It is a space where we have intentionally chosen not to shy away from difficult histories but rather to lean into them together,” Rebus added.
During the process of listening and translating for the trail project, the words of one Stoney elder still stick with Rebus.
“The elder women said, ‘When I speak my language, I hear the voices of my ancestors,’” she said. They have said this is a safe space for them to share stories that can be sometimes difficult and complicated.”
The interpretive trail comes after an oral history project done by the society in 2021, where Stoney members and elders told stories of the land and their culture through a video series.
But the society hopes this is just the start of building more educational programs at the site, furthering reconciliation and sharing knowledge with one another.
“That’s the important part, communicating, understanding and hearing each other,” said Stephens.
“If you want to be heard, you have to hear them, too.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. This position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
By Leah Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jul 13, 2026 at 09:23
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