Manitou Stone sacred to First Nations moves to Elk Island National Park
A 145-kilogram meteorite will leave the Royal Alberta Museum after decades of advocacy by Alberta and Saskatchewan Indigenous communities.
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Update — July 25, 2026: The Manitou Stone, an iron meteorite sacred to Cree, Blackfoot, and Dene peoples, was removed from its location near present-day Hardisty, Alberta in 1866 by Methodist missionary George McDougall and taken to Ontario, eventually arriving at the University of Toronto. According to Cree knowledge keeper Wally Fox, the stone's arrival thousands of years ago ended violence between the three nations and became central to their shared spirituality, with prophecy warning of hardship if it were ever moved.
A sacred meteorite held in Edmonton's Royal Alberta Museum for over 50 years will finally move to a permanent home. First Nations leaders and the federal government signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to relocate the 145-kilogram Manitou Asinîy — the Manitou Stone — to Elk Island National Park.
The stone is believed to have landed near Hardisty, Alberta, roughly 200 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, around 200 years ago. It once served as a gathering place for Dene, Cree, and Blackfoot tribes before a missionary took it in 1866. It eventually ended up in Ontario, displayed at a college in Cobourg, before the Royal Alberta Museum brought it back to Alberta in 1972.
Blaine Favel, a board member of the Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Centre (MAITX) — the First Nations-led organization formed in 2023 to secure the stone's return — said the national park offers the ideal setting. Though the initial plan was to return it to its original location near Hardisty, the landscape there has changed too much. "As much as we fought to bring it back to Hardisty, it didn't belong there anymore," Favel said. "The land's cleared. There's no more buffalo. There's no more wildness."
Elk Island's preserved landscape and bison herds make it the closest match to the stone's ancestral home. The nine-hole golf course in the tiny national park, inactive since the end of 2022, will be the site of a new building to house the stone and host ceremonies.
Favel said his organization will independently fundraise for the building project but is seeking federal support. Federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said environmental assessments are underway, though no timeline for moving the stone has been set. Favel is also looking to the provincial government to help with operating costs.
The facts
How much does the Manitou Stone weigh?
The Manitou Stone weighs 145 kilograms.
Where is the Manitou Stone moving to?
The Manitou Stone is relocating from the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton to Elk Island National Park.
When was the memorandum of understanding signed?
First Nations leaders and the federal government signed the memorandum of understanding on Monday, July 13, 2026.
Why wasn't the stone returned to Hardisty, Alberta?
Though Hardisty, Alberta was the stone's original location near where it landed roughly 200 years ago, the landscape there has changed too much—the land is now cleared and lacks buffalo and wildness, making it unsuitable as the stone's home.
What will be built at Elk Island National Park to house the stone?
A new building will be constructed on the site of the nine-hole golf course at Elk Island National Park (inactive since the end of 2022) to house the Manitou Stone and host ceremonies.
