# Indigenous\-owned Turtle Tours brings The Forks' history to life \- Winnipeg

**URL:** [View](https://winnipegdev.dci-test.com/indigenous-owned-turtle-tours-brings-the-forks-history-to-life/)

**Last Updated:** 2026-11-05T18:49:46+00:00

**Summary:** New tour company operating out of The Forks offers 45-minute walking tours that showcase art, history and more

This summer, The Forks saw the opening of its newest tour operator at the province’s most visited tourism centre.

 [Turtle Tours (opens in new window)](https://www.turtletours.ca/) is owned and operated by award-winning tourism operator Ashley Smith, a proud Anishinaabe Ikwe. She runs the company with her daughter Jaylee Smith, a member of Gambler First Nation, and Ella Flett-McMahon, an Anishinaabe woman, who both work as [tour guides (opens in new window)](https://www.turtletours.ca/yourguides).

 Leaving directly from the Turtle Tours office at The Forks Market, the 45-minute walking tour takes you around these grounds that are home to over 6,000 years of Indigenous history. The tour completes a full loop across seven distinct spots at The Forks, including the Wall through Time –– where you’ll find artifacts on display on the accessible walking path that leads to The Forks Historic Port Harbour. You’ll also explore the sacred site where the Oodena Circle (“heart of the community”) is located, the Residential School monument where you’ll be given time to reflect, and of course, the area’s rivers, which were the historic highways for trade between many Indigenous peoples.

 It’s a fascinating experience, and one that also showcases the inherent beauty of The Forks –– including newer initiatives like its orchard –– while also detailing so much of its known history through an authentic Indigenous lens.

 For the tour you’re given headsets so you can hear everything your guides say clearly, and you can always ask questions when appropriate.

 Right from the start, you’ll be swept up by how unique this area truly is, while even locals who frequent The Forks regularly will be caught up in all points of interest that are sort of hidden in plain sight. For us, the Wall through Time, one of the tour’s first stops, is a real eye opener.

 We had no idea so many artifacts were on display right on the wall, along with maps and timelines that detail this area starting 11,000 years ago when this whole region was covered in ice, which later created the massive Lake Agassiz. Look for the map with mammoth (or is that a mastodon?; this region was once home to both), which details how long it took the ice age to end here.

 You’ll learn about the movement of Clovis peoples to the area, then how the Assiniboine, Cree, Dakota and later Ojibwe peoples came to this region, along with the birth of the Métis Nation. You’ll walk beside the rivers and uncover their importance as trade routes.

 You will also discover the life of interesting characters like La Vérendrye and John “The Falcon” Tanner – a man who lived between the worlds of the Ojibwe and white settlers, whom Ashley and Jaylee are descendants of.

 There’s much on the symbolic nature of certain animals (like geese, which you’ll see in the waters swimming), and many details on massive public works of art, like The Path of Time sculpture that depicts a 6,000-year progression of tools used in the region.

 We’d tell you more, but you really must embark on this tour yourself to experience all the hidden wonders around each bend of this beautiful area in the heart of downtown.

 [*Tours run* (opens in new window)](https://www.turtletours.ca/the-forks-walking-tour) *all summer long (perhaps as late as October 30) and can be booked for groups of up to 35. Tours are also appropriate for school groups and come with a free curriculum tie-in. Kids 5 and under are free, although they won’t receive headsets.*