Medicine Hat inherited its name from the native word saamis which means medicine mans hat. After many arduous days they made their way to the “breathing hole” an opening in the ice, located on the river between what is now Police Point and Strathcona Park in Medicine Hat.

Where did Medicine Hat originate?

The city of Medicine Hat got its name from the Blackfoot term Saamis, which refers to the headdress of eagle feather worn by a medicine man.

How did Medicine Hat start?

In 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) stopped to build a bridge across the South Saskatchewan River and a tent town was born. They maintained law and order among the railway workers and First Nations people of the area and made Medicine Hat a law-abiding town.

What native land is Medicine Hat on?

Medicine Hat College honours and acknowledges that we are situated on Treaty 7 and neighbour to Treaty 4 territory, traditional lands of the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), Piikani (Peigan), Stoney-Nakoda, and Tsuutina (Sarcee) as well as the Cree, Sioux, and the Saulteaux bands of the Ojibwa peoples.