Naming the West : Stories High River School

High River Student Story 1:
Spitzee School

Where did a word like Spitzee come from? To answer that we will have to go back in time. The present location of High River was originally a gathering place used by Blackfoot Indians. They gave it the name “ispitzee”, it meant high, or some people have translated it to mean “high place”. The word “ispitzee” referred to the river banks and the large poplar or cottonwood trees that grew there. Later these two ideas, High place and cottonwood trees were combined to create the river name of “Highwood”. The Highwood River is a big part of the town of High River because of its scenery it provides and the many times it has flooded. The “ispitzee” name was eventually changed into an easier word for the settlers and traders to say, this being Spitzee. The name is still a big part of High River as one of the schools has been named Spitzee Elementary School.