Icon, Brand, Myth: The Calgary Stampede (review)

While the concluding section – an interview with the current ceo of the Stampede – leans towards boosterism, the other twelve essays in this collection are solid contributions to the history of Calgary’s signature event. Although the organization operates year-round exhibition facilities, most of the articles are focused on aspects of the annual ten-day festival. These include Glen Mikkelsen’s informative discussion of the evolution of the rodeo and the obstacles limiting its popularity; Aritha van Herk’s passionate elucidation of the intricacies of chuckwagon racing; Fiona Angus’s tracing of midway arrangements and the controversies surrounding them; Lorry Felske’s exploration of the city’s early parading tradition; Don Wetherell’s take on the Stampede as an invented tradition that, from its very inception, distorted the realities of Calgary’s past; and Hugh Dempsey’s review of Native participation, which argues that despite some racial insensitivity, the event has contributed to the preservation of traditional cultures.

Some authors are interested in what might be termed aesthetic and contemplative aspects of the show. Fritz Pannekoek, searching for evidence of the impact of southern Alberta’s ranching heritage in Calgary’s built environment, finds that it is acknowledged mainly in commercial signage rather than public art, except on the exhibition grounds themselves. Reacting to suggestions that the Stampede impedes the growth of cultural sophistication in cowtown, Brian Rusted points out that as patron, client, and collector, the show has always been connected to the vibrant genre of western art, which has its own distinct conventions, standards, and institutions. Tamara Palmer Seiler wonders how an American figure, the cowboy, has come to be the predominant symbol of this Canadian institution, concluding that his presence derives both from the fact that the Canadian ranching frontier was an extension of the American one and from the influence of America’s powerful machinery of popular culture. As a regional figure, he embodies the ‘maverick’ identity of Alberta, while remaining meaningful to those in other parts of the country and beyond. In a related piece, she and Robert Seiler dissect the symbolic meaning of the cowboy as he appeared on Stampede posters, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s, arguing that while traces of local culture have been progressively removed from these publicity devices, the figure continues to address tensions across the nature/culture and past/present divides.

Only one article deals with the more purely administrative history of the organization. In his own contribution, Max Foran investigates the link between the Stampede and the municipal government, especially regarding attempts to expand and improve the exhibition grounds, which are owned by the city. While the two entities have disagreed on occasion, their shared interest in the success of the enterprise and the prestige of the Stampede board and management have kept the relationship generally harmonious.

There is some overlap among many of the articles, particularly descriptions of the origins of the event and the influence of Guy Weadick, the American-born showman who invented the show and eventually signed on as a key manager of it. There are also some divergent interpretations. For example, Aritha van Herk is impressed by the extent of popular interest in the chuckwagon races, which is growing if commercial sponsorship is an indication, while Glen Mikkelsen is more conscious that the appeal of rodeo is losing ground. More surprisingly, Tamara Seiler argues in one of her articles that the ranching industry ‘is clearly more the product of continental forces than of national ones,’ and in the other (with Robert Seiler) that the Canadian ranching enterprise ‘was in marked contrast to that of the American.’

It is unfair to speak of an omission in the book since it is not intended to be comprehensive in its treatment of the Stampede, but it would be interesting to know more about what transpired in the wider city during the show among ordinary Calgarians. Mikkelsen remarks that when he was growing up during the 1970s and 1980s, the whole community...