First Inhabitants of Alberta: The Clovis People, 13,000 Years Ago

The earliest confirmed human presence in what is now Alberta dates to the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 13,000 years ago. These were the Clovis people, part of the broader Paleo-Indian tradition that spread across North America.

Who Were the Clovis People?

• Origin: Migrated from Siberia via Beringia, then south through the ice-free corridor or along the Pacific coast.
• Technology: Distinctive fluted stone spear points (Clovis points) for hunting megafauna.
• Subsistence: Hunted mammoth, mastodon, bison antiquus, and other Pleistocene game; gathered plants.
• Alberta Sites: Key finds include the Wally's Beach site (southern Alberta) with camel and horse remains alongside Clovis tools.

After Clovis: A Succession of Cultures

As the climate warmed and megafauna disappeared, subsequent cultures adapted:

• Folsom tradition (~12,500–11,000 BP): Specialized bison hunters on the plains.
• Plano cultures (~11,000–8,000 BP): Diverse adaptations across grasslands, parklands, and boreal forest.
• Pre-contact Indigenous nations: By the 1700s, the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksikaitsitapi), Cree, Assiniboine, Dene, Nakoda, and others occupied the region.

European Arrival

Fur traders (North West Company, Hudson's Bay Company) entered in the late 1700s, followed by missionaries, settlers, and the NWMP. Alberta became a province in 1905.

The Clovis people were the first—but Alberta's human story spans 13,000+ years of continuous adaptation, innovation, and cultural diversity.