Virtual buffalo will walk side-by-side with Regina park visitors, thanks to new app

Virtual bison will soon roam Regina’s Māmowimīwēyitamōwin Park.

A new app called Buffalo Futurism uses augmented reality to take people on a virtual tour, telling stories about the bison that once roamed the prairies of Saskatchewan.

The site of its June 18 launch is the recently renamed Māmowimīwēyitamōwin Park, on land that was formerly the Regent Par 3 Golf Course and Regent Pool Park, just west of Regent Pool. Māmowimīwēyitamōwin (pronounced ma-mo-we-me-way-ee-ta-mo-win) in Cree means a gathering of joy and happiness.

“I imagined and wanted that buffalo energy in the city,” said Joely BigEagle-Kehquahtooway, co-founder of the Buffalo People Arts Institute and someone who inspired the project.

In 2022, BigEagle-Kehquahtooway and her husband placed 17 rocks in the park to create a bison effigy, as part of her work to raise awareness and the connection between indigenous people and bison.

Evie Johnny Ruddy, program coordinator for the Buffalo Futurism app, said she heard BigEagle-Kehquahtooway talk about her visions of bringing buffalo back to the land and felt inspired by the concept.

“She imagined this larger-than-life spirit in the park. And as I listened to her talk, I thought, ‘Oh, we could do that with augmented reality,'” Ruddy said.

Ruddy contacted BigEagle-Kehquahtooway with the idea of ​​creating an app with his vision. In 2023, BigEagle-Kehquahtooway and the Buffalo People Arts Institute partnered with Ruddy and Common Weal Community Arts to work on the collaborative project.

BigEagle-Kehquahtooway recorded audio stories about the buffalo, with the digital team then creating artwork that would bring these stories to life.

“Some people don’t know this, but Pokemon Go, a lot of people know about Pokemon Go. It’s augmented reality – so it will feel like the buffalo are in the park with you,” Ruddy said.

The Buffalo Futurism app will give people an immersive experience with augmented reality. (Submitted by Evie Johnny Ruddy)

The City of Regina is updating a sign in the park to add a QR code that visitors can use to access the bison’s alternate world, while listening to BigEagle-Kehquahtooway provide narration.

BigEagle-Kehquahtooway said the app was a good way to combine traditional storytelling with a more modern approach, using a virtual lens.

“It’s a good way to connect old ways of storytelling to engage with today’s youth,” BigEagle-Kehquahtooway said.

When BigEagle-Kehquahtooway and her husband began working on the bison effigy, she said they did so with the intention of creating a sanctuary for urban Native people to have space within the boundaries of the city, where they could feel safe.

A playing field helped revitalize the golf course that occupied this space. Today, what was once a quiet place is full of children’s laughter and soon, buffaloes will be in the spotlight.

“It’s gratifying to see it finally launched,” she said of the app. “You can enjoy the park…and you can also enjoy this futuristic aspect of the buffalo…through the app.”