Healing Waters of Little Manitou Lake

After our morning wanderings on the trails in Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan, Canada, Bob and I devoured a tasty lunch at Manitou Springs Resort & Mineral Spa.  We seldom indulge in self pampering so were invigorated by a dip in the healing waters of Little Manitou Lake that fill the spa pools.

Little Manitou Lake sits in a basin that was scooped out by a glacier.  Springs in the lake bed release magnesium, potassium, silica, iron oxide, calcium and sulphate into the water.

Little Manitou Lake is a saltwater lake.  The high level of salinity is attributable to the fact that the lake is a terminal lake, meaning that there is no outlet.  Evaporation causes a high level of potassium, magnesium and sodium salts to remain in the existing water leading it to have the highest mineral content of any North American lake.

The salt content of the water in Little Manitou Lake is about half that found in the Dead Sea.  The lake is referred to as the Dead Sea of Canada.  It is impossible to sink when swimming in the Lake or a pool containing some of the water.

Water is channelled from Little Manitou Lake, then filtered and cleaned before being pumped into three pools.  Each pool is heated to a temperature ranging from 94º to 100º  Fahrenheit.

As the warm water embraced us, we instantly felt relaxed.  It was soothing and the remarkable buoyancy kept us afloat.

Bob and I didn’t swim so much as we just soaked.  Apparently, the mineral salts provide significant benefits such as improved hydration, cell regeneration and an improved immune system.  These benefits are significant factors in the healing waters of Little Manitou Lake.

We certainly felt rejuvenated!

It was surprising how much warmer the 39º-Celsius pool was than the 38º-degree Celsius pool.  It amounted to about a 3-degree difference on the Fahrenheit scale.  A little more effort was required to submerse ourselves in the hotter water.

Bob and I were intrigued by the history of Little Manitou Lake as told and illustrated on the walls of the resort.  Legend has it that the mineral waters of Little Manitou Lake cured a couple of Cree tribesmen at the turn of the last century.  It is an interesting read.

Subsequent to that miracle, the Cree Nation named the lake Manitou Sakahīcan in the belief that the lake came from the Great Spirit.  Manitou means “Great Spirits or the Creator”, and Sakahīcan means “lake” in the Cree language.  It is said that warring tribes laid down their weapons before entering the water, so it was also referred to as “Lake of the Good Spirit”.

Little Manitou Lake also became known as the “Lake of the Healing Waters.”  Medicine men brought their sick to the lake to be cured and returned to camp carrying the healing waters in their medicine bags for future use.

As word spread, tribes from as far west as the Rockies and as far east as the Great Lakes brought their sick and ailing tribesmen to be restored and cured.  Patients were either bathed in the cooling mineral waters, drank from the lake, or were treated in sweat lodges.

Medicine men from the various tribes had complete faith in the powers of the healing waters from Little Manitou Lake.  Eye witness reports say that in some cases the cures were miraculous.

Bob and I enjoyed reading the wall displays, learning a good deal as we did so.  They represent excerpts from a book called Prairie Reflections that was published by Watrous and District History Committee in Watrous.  The illustrations were painted by Kelly Thorson, a visual artist from Penzance, Saskatchewan.

Frame to Frame – Bob and Jean