Siksika Nation Public Works took another step toward expanding and improving Crowfoot Cemetery in September, conducting ground-penetrating radar scans of proposed expansion areas before moving forward with detailed design and future construction.
Crowfoot Cemetery, one of the Nation’s oldest cemeteries, was selected as the pilot site for a larger project to improve cemeteries across Siksika Nation. The project began in October 2024, with plans to improve parking, access roads and fencing, create additional burial space, and enhance the cemetery grounds with monuments and vegetation.
“Crowfoot Cemetery is one of our oldest cemeteries, and many generations of Siksika people are resting here,” Lyle Breaker said. “As the cemetery has become increasingly full, we have a responsibility to make sure there is room for future generations while respecting the people who are already here.”
Before the September scanning began, Rufus Pretty Young Man blessed the cemetery, marking an important step before work proceeded on the land. Ground-penetrating radar, or GPR, was then used to help identify what may be beneath the proposed expansion areas so the project can move forward carefully and respectfully.
Kathy Gadd, who travelled from Western Heritage in St. Albert, Alta., with her co-worker Jerome Onil, explained that GPR sends radar waves into the ground. When those waves encounter changes beneath the surface, reflections return to the equipment and create data that can be analyzed.
Gadd said the team looks for patterns that could indicate a burial, including the approximate size, shape and depth of underground features. However, other objects and changes in the ground, including boulders and previously disturbed soil, can also produce signals.
“It’s a little bit of an art form, a little bit of a lot of science,” Gadd said while explaining the process of interpreting the data.
The cemetery improvement project has been developing for nearly two years. In April 2025, a questionnaire was released to Nation members to gather feedback for Arcadis to use in developing a rough concept design. The design was completed the following month and included options for approximately 1,683 to 1,688 additional grave plots and between 44 and 165 parking spaces.
The next step is to analyze the GPR data and prepare an authorization form to move the Crowfoot Cemetery project into detailed design. Further Nation consultation is planned before the detailed and final concept designs are completed.
The proposed expansion would be completed in four phases, with phases beginning as areas approach capacity. Public Works plans to seek funding and move toward construction and project completion in 2027 and 2028.
“This project is about more than expanding and upgrading our cemeteries on the Nation,” Breaker said. “It is about taking care of a place that carries our history, our families and our loved ones.”
Crowfoot Cemetery is intended to serve as the starting point for improvements at other cemeteries across Siksika Nation. Paul Little Walker and Cannon Stockton cemeteries are expected to be the next sites targeted for upgrades.
“What we’re doing today is about honouring those who came before us while preparing a respectful place for the generations who will come after us,” Breaker said.
