Indian Head is a town in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada, east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway. It "had its beginnings in 1882 as the first settlers, mainly of Scottish origin, pushed into the area in advance of the railroad, most travelling by ox-cart from Brandon." The town is known for its federally operated experimental farm and tree nursery, which has produced and distributed seedlings for shelter belts since 1901. For many years the program was run by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA).
Indian Head was incorporated as a town in 1902 and the Canadian Journal noted that the community was the largest point of initial shipment of wheat in the world. Today it is run by the Agroforestry Development Centre. Today the town "has a range of professional services and tradespeople, financial institutions, and a large number of retail establishments." on the parkland of the Qu'Appelle flood plain.
Climate
thumb|left|Shelter Belt Centre Saskatchewan Hwy 56 junction on Highway 1, the Trans Canada
Indian Head has a humid continental climate, with extreme seasonal temperatures. It has warm summers and cold winters, with the average daily temperatures ranging from in January to in July. On Average, temperatures exceed 12 days per year. Typically, summer lasts from late June until late August, and the humidity is seldom uncomfortably high. Winter lasts from November to March and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Indian Head was on 5 July 1937.| date = May 2016
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Indian Head had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
In 2011, 50 percent were male and 50 per cent were female. Also in 2011, children under five accounted for approximately 6.1 per cent of the resident population of Indian Head.
According to data from 2001, more than 33.6% of the town's residents identify themselves as Catholic; 48.9% of residents are Protestant, and 12.3% of residents do not practise a religion.
Government
thumb|left|Indian Head streetscape with Film Rescue International (centre left) and Royal Bank (right)
The town of Indian Head has a mayor as the highest ranking government official. The town also elects aldermen or councillors to form the municipal council. Currently, the mayor is Steven Cole and is serving with councillors Pieter Cruson, Alan Hubbs, Charity Palmer, Tim Klein, Chris Simpson, and Nathan Longeau. The town administrator is Cam Thauberger.
Provincially, Indian Head is within the constituency of Indian Head-Milestone served by their Member of legislative assembly, the Honourable Don McMorris. Federally, the Regina—Qu'Appelle riding is represented by their Member of Parliament, Andrew Scheer.
Infrastructure
Even though the provincial government Saskatchewan Air Ambulance system was not established until 1946, Indian Head did call to Charlie Skinner, a pilot in Regina in 1935. Transport was needed to get the doctor from Indian Head to Odessa to treat a critically ill patient during a time when the roads were blocked by snow. Thus began Skinner's Air Service.
The first communication system in Saskatchewan was on the Bell Farm built in 1882 by Major Bell on ten miles (16 km) square or at Indian Head. The telecommunications system utilised barbed wire for the phone lines.
Transportation
left|thumb|Indian Head [[grain elevator on a winter day]]
Indian Head is served by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is located at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway (Saskatchewan Highway 1) and Highway 56. It is about east of the provincial capital city of Regina and west of Winnipeg.
An Indian trail used by fur traders, and red river carts pulling settlers effects was the first path between Moosomin and Fort Ellice, Manitoba. The transcontinental CPR paralleled this trail when coming through in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
right|thumb|Indian Head next 2 exits. [[Katepwa Point Provincial Park Sk Hwy 56 North between Qu'Appelle and Regina Saskatchewan Highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway ]]
Provincial Highway 4, the precursor of the Trans–Canada Saskatchewan Highway 1, followed the surveyed grade of the transcontinental CPR between the Alberta and Manitoba border. Travel along Provincial Highway 4 before the 1940s would have been travelling on the square following the township road allowances, barbed wire fencing and rail lines. As the surveyed township roads were the easiest to travel, the first highway was designed on 90 degree right angle corners as the distance traversed the prairie along range roads and township roads. Two-horse then eight-horse scrapers maintained these early dirt roads.
One of the problems that came about was when the Manitoba survey met the Saskatchewan survey. The Manitoba survey allowed for road allowances placed east and west every . This system was followed west of Manitoba until just north of Indian Head. However, the Saskatchewan survey conducted in 1887, allowed for road allowances and placed roads east and west every . The two surveys needed a correction which took years to smooth out.