Videos feature Wahkpa Chu'gn as Brumleys mark 20 years

In the midst of their 20th year running the site, a local couple is seeing some increased visibility of the site with one video out and another in the works.

Anna Brumley, manager of the Wahkpa Chu'gn Buffalo Jump archaeological site on the bluff north of Havre's Holiday Village Mall, said during Monday's H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum Board meeting that Missoula anthropologist Jeff McLain visited Wahkpa Chu'gn Monday in his tour of seven bison kill sites in Montana and Alberta.

McLain, who is making a documentary about bison kill sites, said he was impressed with Wahkpa Chu'gn, Brumley said.

That comes about a month after the release of a video focusing on the history of the site, "Wahpa Chu'gn: Frozen in Time." The video, available on Blu-Ray and DVD, can be purchased at the site's interpretive center.

Brumley said this morning that she is considering making it available at other sites as well. The proceeds, at $15 for a DVD copy and $20 for Blu-Ray, all go to fund the operation and maintenance of the site.

John Brumley said they have sold a few copies of the documentary since it was released, with people showing a moderate interest so far.

He said the operation of the site is running smoothly, and work done there in recent years, including new structures housing the displays, is holding up well.

The site gives tours of actual archaeological digs, rather than showing displays in a museum or visitors center of items recovered at the site.

Brumley has a history with the site going back to his childhood, when he put it on the archaeological map.

In 1961, while still a youth, he became intrigued by the newly formed Milk River Archaeological Society, and decided to prove himself to the group by finding the bison kill site.

He found artifacts at the site during a dual hunt - for rabbits and for the site - and brought them to the society.

He went on to study archaeology and pursued that endeavor in Canada before returning to Havre 20 years ago and taking over the site. Brumley is curator of archaeology for the H. Earl Clack Museum, which oversees Wahkpa Chu'gn.

Anna Brumley is the manager of the site.

She said things have changed immensely since they came to Havre 20 years ago, with the tours then just on a track down the bluff.

Now, with the new visitor center on the top of the bluff, a paved path and new display houses, things are much improved, she said, although she added she and her husband still reminisce about what it was like two decades ago.

"But it's so much better now," Brumley said, adding, "It's been quite a journey. It's been fun."

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Online: Wahkpa Chu'gn archaeological site website: http://www.buffalojump.org/