Taking a Visit Through Time at the Manitou Mounds
Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre, the Place of the Long Rapids, is a historically significant meeting place located along the banks of Manidoo Ziibi (Spirit River or Rainy River) in northwestern Ontario.
Also known as Manitou Mounds, it is the largest concentration of known burial mounds in North America and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1969. The Centre is owned and operated by Rainy River First Nations, and offers interpretive tours and galleries, a collections space with over 20,000 objects and artifacts, a gift shop that showcases artwork by local Indigenous artists, and a restaurant with a menu that features traditional Anishinaabe ingredients.
Our friends at the Historical Centre have recalled how The Mounds came to be: “Archaeological evidence suggests that the first residents of Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung arrived during the Middle Precontact Period. While they did not construct the mounds on site, they did leave their mark as evidenced in locally found artifacts such as stone tools.
The first mound builders at the Place of the Long Rapids were part of the Laurel Complex. They inhabited this region from around 800 to 2,000 years ago. At Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung, Laurel mounds range in size from 18-24 meters in diameter and up to 7 meters in height and are located along the edges of river terraces, which span the site.
Some of the mounds on site were constructed by digging a shallow pit, where the remains of ancestors who had passed would be placed and then covered with earth. Some mounds were continually added to over time, possibly over the course of hundreds of years. This layering process created the mounds as we see them today.”
Come and take a guided tour by golf cart or walk the trail to see burial mounds dating back over 2,000 years. Enjoy a meal in our restaurant and walk through the beautiful centre which features dioramas and historic artifacts. We also have a gift shop on-site and a traditional roundhouse. Book your group or individual tours now: