Cypress Hills is one of the most significant areas of ancient human inhabitation in North America. Digs on the north slope of the Cypress Hills have found stone and bone tools, and butchered and charred bone scraps. This area served as a habitation site, as opposed to a kill or quarry station, and included artifacts of the Besant, Pelican Lake, Oxbow and Bitterroot cultures.

Cypress Hills has clearly been a significant habitation site in North America for more than 8500 years!

Prior to 1870, five groups, including Cree, Assiniboine, Gros Venture, Blood and some Peigan, made frequent use of the hills.

During the winter months, large animals, such as the bison and elk retreated to the woods. The Native Americans, while following these herds which traditionally provided them with their essential materials for survival, frequently found themselves wintering in the Cypress Hills. This was an ideal location since it supplied the wood, water, horse pasture, shelter, and game.