The Calgary Stampede

Icon, Brand, Myth: THE CALGARY STAMPEDE Icon, Brand, Myth: THE CALGARY STAMPEDE edited by Max Foran The West Unbound: Social and Cultural Studies series ©2008 AU Press Published by AU Press, Athabasca University 1200, 10011 – 109 Street Edmonton, AB T5J 3S8 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Icon, brand, myth : the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede / edited by Max Foran. Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued also in electronic format. ISBN 978-1-897425-03-9 (bound) ISBN 978-1-897425-05-3 (pbk.) 1. Calgary Stampede–History. 2. Calgary Stampede–Social aspects. 3. Calgary (Alta.)–History. 4. Calgary (Alta.)–Social conditions. I. Foran, Max GV1834.56.C22C3 2008 791.8’409712338 C2008-902106-1 This book is part of the The West Unbound: Social and Cultural Studies series ISSN 1915-8181 (print) ISSN 1915-819X (electronic) Printed and bound in Canada by AGMV Marquis Cover and book design by Alex Chan, Studio Reface All photographs and illustrations courtesy Calgary Stampede, except for the following: Fiona Angus: p. 128; Max Foran: p. 159, 160; Glenbow Archives: p. 8: NA-628-1; p. 21: NA-81-1; p. 61: NA-446-111; p. 73: PA-1326-9; p. 89: NA-5627-33; p. 101: NA-1722-2; p. 147: NA-2864-29706; p. 274: NA-2376-1; p. 315: fig. 2; Stéphane Guevremont: all photographs on pp. 266–267; Library of Congress: p. 175: LC-USZ62-78721. This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons License, see www.creativecommons.org. The text may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that credit is given to the original author(s). Please contact AU Press, Athabasca University at [email protected] for permission beyond the usage outlined in the Creative Commons license. To my longtime friend, Doug Chapman – Max Foran Contents Acknowledgements viii Introduction ix Chapter 1 The Stampede in Historical Context 1 Max Foran Chapter 2 Making Tradition: The Calgary Stampede, 1912–1939 21 Donald G. Wetherell Chapter 3 The Indians and the Stampede 47 Hugh A. Dempsey Chapter 4 Calgary’s Parading Culture Before 1912 73 Lorry W. Felske Chapter 5 Midway to Respectability: Carnivals at the 111 Calgary Stampede Fiona Angus Chapter 6 More Than Partners: The Calgary Stampede 147 and the City of Calgary Max Foran Chapter 7 Riding Broncs and Taming Contradictions: 175 Reflections on the Uses of the Cowboy in the Calgary Stampede Tamara Palmer Seiler Chapter 8 A Spurring Soul: A Tenderfoot’s Guide to the 203 Calgary Stampede Rodeo Glen Mikkelsen Chapter 9 The Half a Mile of Heaven’s Gate 235 Aritha van Herk Chapter 10 “Cowtown It Ain’t”: The Stampede and Calgary’s 251 Public Monuments Frits Pannekoek VI Chapter 11 “A Wonderful Picture”: Western Art and the 271 Calgary Stampede Brian Rusted Chapter 12 The Social Construction of the Canadian Cowboy: 293 Calgary Exhibition and Stampede Posters, 1952–1972 Robert M. Seiler and Tamara Palmer Seiler Chapter 13 Renewing the Stampede for the 21st Century: 325 A Conversation with Vern Kimball, Calgary Stampede Chief Executive Officer Bibliography 335 Contributors 348 Index 351 VII Acknowledgements I would like to thank the contributors to this volume, the genesis of which dates back to 2004 and the Faculty of Communication and Culture’s inaugural course on the culture of the Stampede. Their time, effort, and co-operation are greatly appreciated. I would also like to acknowledge the support and co- operation of the Calgary Stampede and especially its generosity in supplying most of the visuals that appear in the book. Here a special thanks goes to Tracey Read, manager, Government Relations and Community Partnership, who helped me so much in so many ways. Max Foran University of Calgary November 2007 VIII Introduction The idea for this book came as a result of the inaugural course on the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (Calgary Stampede as of spring 2007) offered by the Faculty of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary in the summer of 2004. This innovative course was based on guest lectures, many of which were delivered by members of the above faculty. At a get-together following the course there was general agreement among participants that the various lectures might serve a wider purpose if they were transformed into articles and made available to a larger audience. All of the contributors to this book either lectured or were the subjects of reference in the three Stampede courses offered in the summers of 2004, 2005, and 2006. The course itself grew out of a growing awareness that the Stampede has evolved into a cultural phenomenon. Similar events are held annually throughout North America. Midways, rodeos, parades, performances, and agricultural and other exhibits are all part of an annual fairground tradition in countless cities and towns, yet none evokes reactions as does the Calgary Stampede. Growing up as a boy in Sydney, Australia, I visited the Royal Eas- ter Show every year and was drawn in wonderment to scenes and events very similar to those I was to encounter later in another country and another city. Yet when I donned western garb to attend my first Stampede in 1964, feeling strange and out of place, I had already been imbued with the notion that I was now part of something special, a festive tradition unique to Calgary. In a way, my impression was valid. Unlike the Royal Easter Show, the Stampede was not simply attended; it was experienced. I learned my first and probably most important lesson about the Stampede that day: it had more to do with the act of participation than with offered opportunities. Paradoxically, it has been this capacity to embody a significance that transcends the sum of its various components that explains in part why the Stampede is held in such high and low regard. The Calgary Stampede can claim many legitimacies. It hosts the premier event in a popular professional sport. In addition to being of significant eco- nomic worth to the city, the Stampede is based on a valid historic tradition that dates to the late nineteenth century and provides in many ways an inter- pretive window into the historical development of the prairie and foothills West. The Stampede has supported agriculture and the livestock industry for almost a century while promoting sports and western art and showcasing other events of cultural and social importance. Its capacity to solicit and orga- nize phenomenal volunteer support is the envy of organizations worldwide. IX X INTRODUCTION And like it or not, the Calgary Stampede has become a world-class festival that spills out into the streets and carries its own messages within a spectrum of ritual, performance, celebration, and spectacle. Yet as successful as the Stampede has been in attracting visitors and perpet- uating its own popularity, it has also garnered considerable antipathy. Some criticize the Stampede for adhering to middle-class white Anglo-Saxon male values. Others view the Stampede as a money-making machine run by elites that exploits heritage in the interests of profit. A growing number protest the exploitation of animals. Some see the Stampede as little more than a giant hoax whereby illusions are cultivated, dressed up, packaged, and sold without shame. Still others wince at the folly of trying to embed a hokey, hackneyed event into the psyche and image of a dynamic city seeking global status. Crucial in these allegiances and antipathies is the place of myth in the collective consciousness. Those who see the Stampede as a event during which fun and nostalgia mix freely do not recognize or care about myth. Similarly, those who appreciate myth, who see it as an agent for collective identification, a focus for the localization of universal values, or an entry point for personal interpre- tations, also have no difficulty accepting and participating in the Stampede cornucopia. Oppositely, it is the regenerating and exploitative capacity of this myth that draws the intense and largely recent criticism of the Stampede. Many cringe at its distortion of history, whereby fantasy is superimposed on fact with layers of glitz, bombast, and commercial hype. These critics see the Stampede as a giant hoax and an anachronism in an urban environment. The following articles do not attempt to idealize or destroy this myth, nor is their intention to laud or denigrate the Stampede, although they do contain elements of all the above. With some overlapping, unavoidable in a collection of this type, the articles try to provide some perspectives of the enigma that is the Calgary Stampede. Collectively they attempt to answer several ques- tions: What is the reality behind its origins and various components? What messages does the Stampede try to deliver? How did the Stampede go about cultivating its traditions? Where does the City of Calgary fit in? What can the Stampede tell us about First Nations and their treatment? Is the Stampede about more than rodeo, the midway, and artificiality? How can the rodeo and chuckwagon races be explained to urban and international audiences? Who is the cowboy? What are the Stampede organizers’ visions for the future? The articles are wide-ranging in length, subject, tone, approach, and inter- pretation. Some focus on the Stampede and discuss it in a specific context. Others use the Stampede to explore pertinent themes. Together they furnish a heightened understanding and provide a useful forum for further discourse. ICON, BRAND, MYTH: THE CALGARY STAMPEDE XI The opening article by Max Foran places the Stampede in its historical context and in effect sets the stage for the more focused articles to follow. He explains the Stampede’s unusual composition and discusses its multiple origins.

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