reveal alternating layers of shale interspersed by harder layers of quartzite, dolomite and limestone. First Nations land claim On January 25, 2017, the Government of Canada and the Siksika Nation announced an agreement to settle a land claim in the region of Castle Mountain, known as Miistukskoowa to the Siksika. The agreement ended an outstanding claim dating back to the 1880s when land located at Castle Mountain was set aside as a timber berth for the use and benefit of the First Nation. The basis of the claim was that these lands were wrongfully taken from the First Nation in 1908 without their consent and without proper compensation. In 1911, these lands at Castle Mountain were added to Rocky Mountain Park, now known as Banff National Park. The agreement provides the Siksika Nation with approximately $123 million in financial compensation, the option to purchase on the open market up to 17,491 acres of land outside of the boundaries of Banff National Park and apply to Canada to have the lands added to its reserve, economic opportunities inside Banff National Park, and ongoing park access for cultural, traditional and educational purposes. First Nation members voted to approve the settlement on March 4, 2016. Canada gave its final approval on August 15, 2016. History James Hector, who accompanied the Palliser Expedition, encountered Castle Mountain in August 1858 while leading a side expedition to find the headwaters of the Bow River. He noted that it "...looks exactly like a gigantic castle" and named it Castle Mountain. He also made the first recorded ascent of its slopes, but is not believed to have reached its summit. The official journal of the Palliser Expedition records his ascent: The first climber to reach the top of Castle Mountain was Arthur P. Coleman, a professor at the University of Toronto, in 1884. Lawrence Grassi and P. Cerutti, both from Canmore, were the first to climb Eisenhower Tower in 1926. In 1881, Joe Healy received some ore in trade from an Indigenous person which was discovered to contain a relatively high silver content. The following year he settled at Castle Mountain as a prospector. News of Healy's ore soon spread; others began to arrive and the settlement of Silver City, situated near Castle Mountain, quickly developed. It was already thriving when the Canadian Pacific transcontinental railroad was built through the area in 1884. Over three thousand people lived