Nemiskam National Park was created north of the former community of Nemiskam in south central Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, in 1922. The park was closed and delisted in 1947. The first Park Superintendent was Edgar McHugh. Nemiskam is a First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 word meaning "between two valleys", referring to the Chin Coulee

Coulee

Coulee is applied rather loosely to different landforms, all of which refer to a kind of valley or drainage zone.The word coulee comes from the Canadian French coulée, from French word couler meaning "to flow"....

 and Etzikom Coulee

Etzikom Coulee

Etzikom Coulee is a coulee located in Southern Alberta, Canada.The waterway was formed as a glacial spillway channel at the end of the last ice age.-Course:...

 on either side of the former community.

History

Beginning in 1914, a large portion of the 139 km² (53.7 sq mi) of land that would later form Nemiskam National Park was designated the Nemiskam National Antelope Reserve, to protect Pronghorn

Pronghorn

The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...

 (often referred to as antelope). The area was one of many pronghorn reserves created in Alberta and Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

 at that time.

Nemiskam National Park was one of several national parks created in the Canadian Prairies

Canadian Prairies

The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...

 expressly to protect and regenerate dangerously low populations of bison

Bison

Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

 and Pronghorn. Other 'regeneration' parks, also delisted in 1947, included Buffalo National Park

Buffalo National Park

Buffalo National Park was created near the town of Wainwright in east central Alberta on June 5, 1909, closed in 1940, and delisted in 1947 when the land was transferred to the Department of National Defence. The park land now comprises the majority of Canadian Forces Base Wainwright...

 and Wawaskesy National Park

Wawaskesy National Park

Wawaskesy National Park was created near the South Saskatchewan River, north of the town of Medicine Hat in southeastern Alberta, Canada, in 1922, closed in 1938, and delisted in 1947....

 (both in Alberta) and Menissawok National Park

Menissawok National Park

Menissawok National Park was a national park established in 1922 southeast of the town of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, in the southwest part of the Canadian province. It closed in 1930, and was delisted in 1947...

in Saskatchewan.

With the rebound of pronghorn herds in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, Nemiskam was closed in 1947 and the land was returned to general use.