During summer, Wanuskewin opens its tipis for groups of a minimum of 15 people, or smaller groups with a minimum charge of 690 Canadian dollars (about $542) — usually scouts or families who bring their own sleeping bags and crash on the floor. But because the season hadn’t started and I was alone, they matched me with a Saskatoon buddy, Ashlyn George (more on her later), and asked us to give them feedback on a new Deluxe Tipi Experience they’re planning to offer this year (prices available on request), with equipment provided.

It operates much like the student sleepovers with a big educational component and is geared to travelers like me who don’t have gear. All proceeds go back to park operations. Highlights: eating First-Nations-inspired cuisine at the museum restaurant; cooking bannock flat bread on a stick by campfire; snuggling under the cocoon of the buffalo skin; and drinking tea in starlight with good company.

The Canadian Me

In 2015, Ms. George landed the coveted job of being the fourth Saskatchewanderer, the official travel blogger for the province, in a program that’s still going strong. She’s also, I quickly found out, a local celebrity, and, in a sense, a pioneer for the job I’m doing now.

For a year, she lived out of her car (and hotels) and documented everything from flying a jet in formation with the Royal Canadian Air Force to the majesty of the northern lights. There are key differences to our mandates: She was working for the government as a function of the tourism arm; could bring a lot more stuff with her since she had a car; and got to go home every once in a while. But she’s also the first person I’ve met who’s done a version of this job and knows what the other side looks like.

She gave me a good tip to make it through all the multitasking: Hide in a bathroom for 5 minutes on a hectic day filled with activities to take a moment to process where you are and what you’re experiencing. But my main takeaway was how much she appreciated the opportunities her year on the road had afforded her. Now she runs a blog and a company focused on outdoor adventure travel for solo female travelers called The Lost Girl’s Guide to Finding the World. I know she helped this lost girl.

Stories of the Forgotten

Dr. Walker was our first guide, taking us through the site where he and his team have been digging out bison teeth and personal charms for 36 years, making it the longest-running continuous archaeological dig in Canadian history. I go t into the pit with him and dug out a bone fragment that was 1,200 years old. He also led the effort to have First Nations input in the park — a radical idea 40 years ago. At his first meeting with tribal elders in 1984, he said, they approved the park, but only after one of their own stood up and said he felt like, spiritually, this was meant to be. “They were old men then,” Dr. Walker said. “They’ve since passed on. And now that I’m an old man, I think they’re right.”

The most powerful part of my time in Wanuskewin, t hough, were three presentations by Cree women telling the stories of the voiceless in their culture.