There is evidence that the Milk River Valley was inhabited by First Nations people as long ago as 9000 years. First Nations tribes such as the
Blackfoot probably created many of the rock carvings (
petroglyphs) and paintings (
pictographs). Other First Nations groups such as the
Shoshone also travelled through the valley and may have also created some of the art. The towering cliffs and hoodoos had a powerful impact on the native visitors, who believed these were the homes of powerful spirits. The shelter of the coulees and the abundance of game and berries made the area that is now the park an excellent location for these nomadic people to stop on their seasonal migrations. While the greatest use of the area was made by those in transit, there is some evidence, including
tipi rings and a
medicine wheel, that there was some longer-term residence here. Beginning around the year 1730, large numbers of horses, metal goods, and guns began to appear on the western plains. This signified not only a change in the First Nations lifestyle, but a change in the content of the rock art. Pictures of hunters on horseback, and warriors without body shields began to emerge during this time period. In 1887 a
North-West Mounted Police (the precursor to the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police) camp was set up at Writing-on-Stone to attempt to curtail cross-border
whisky smuggling, which was devastating the native population, and to put a stop to First Nations horse-raiding parties. But neither problem ever became serious at this outpost, and the NWMP spent most of their time fighting summer grass fires, herding stray American cattle back across the border, and riding hundreds of uneventful kilometres on border patrol. In the period immediately preceding
World War I,
settlers began to arrive in the area, which helped to alleviate some of the boredom and isolation the NWMP officers faced. In 1918, the outpost was closed, as Canadian authorities felt little possibility of criminal activity along the border, and shortly thereafter, the outpost fell victim to
arson by persons unknown. The park was created in 1957 and was designated an archaeological preserve in 1977. As part of the NWMP centennial celebrations, the outpost was reconstructed between 1973 and 1975, and is now one of the attractions in the park. Archaeologists from the Alberta Provincial Parks Department surveyed and catalogued numerous petroglyph and pictograph sites within the park in 1973. In 1981, a portion of the park was named a Provincial Historic Resource to protect this rock art from increasing impact from vandalism and graffiti. The most sensitive areas are now set aside in areas designated for guided tours only. In 1977, the park preserved the archaeology of the pictographs and petroglyphs. This protection makes the park one of the largest concentrations of rock art in the North American Plains. In 2004 Parks Canada added the park to Canada's tentative list of possible world heritage sites. The application indicated that the Blackfoot people would also like the
Sweet Grass Hills of Montana included as part of the world heritage site. In March 2005, the park was designated a
National Historic Site. On June 20, 2007, the park's new visitor centre, with views of the valley from the north rim, was officially opened. ==See also==