Blood reserve rockhunter brings iridescent fossil shells 'back to the world'
CBC
Wes Eaglechild is a cliffhanger, rappelling down riverside escarpments to collect million-year-old stones known as ammolite.
Eaglechild, from Blood Tribe reserve 148, has been rock collecting since receiving his Surface Mining Collection permit from the community about 180 kilometres south of Calgary a decade ago.
"Once you find something and you see that gem, that colour on it — it's almost like this old creature ammonite has been reborn after 75 million years and you're bringing it back to the world."
Ammolite is an iridescent rock made from ammonite fossils, ancient marine animals that went extinct at the same time as the dinosaurs. They were sea-dwelling creatures closely related to octopuses and squids.
Eaglechild mines throughout the year, in rain and winter conditions along riverside cliffs that can be as high as 150 metres. A pick-hammer and a shovel are some of the tools he carries with him. He scours the face of the cliff, searching for "poke-outs," fossil edges that might contain the gems he's out there to find.
"I like to come out here early so I can beat the heat, beat the rush," he said.
"Basically, try to be the first one out here."
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