Abstract

This thesis surveys the role which 'Indianness' has played at rock art sites in Canada. The emphasis is on how the generally negative colonial creation of 'the Indian,' especially after Confederation, has penetrated non-Native opinion in entertainment, which helped spread 'the Indian' image through the general public, and science, which helped to 'confirm' the image. By looking particularly at Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta, some of the issues addressed are: why 'the Indian' was required in Canada, how this image became accepted, how Writing-On-Stone deals with this image in its interpretation and what changes have evolved in rock art research in the latter part of the twentieth century.