tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6921343923907694212024-03-13T01:14:11.504-04:00The Canadian Prairies - the real Wheat Kings.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-18121396132840169952008-03-11T22:55:00.004-04:002008-03-11T23:08:02.040-04:00Hudson's Bay Company ArchivesManitoba is home to one of the most important pieces of Canadian history, the HBC archives. Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) is one of the oldest companies in the world and helped to build Canada into a country. Providing a population of settlers from Europe they originally came here to trap and provide the highly popular beaver pelts to Europe. HBC played an important role in the settlement and urban development of western Canada. HBC was founded on 2 May 1670 when King Charles granted a charter to his cousin Prince Rupert and his associates.<br /><br />Located in Winnipeg Manitoba the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA) holds many textual records, photographs and architectural drawings. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) insisted on meticulous record-keeping and most of its records remained in its possession. The result is a documentary archive remarkable for its size - more than 3,000 linear metres - and its continuity. The earliest HBC record in the archives is a minute book dating from 1671, recording decisions made at the meetings of the HBC's Governor and Committee. With the exception of a four-year gap, all the minute books from 1671 to 1970 are in the HBCA. The photographic holdings of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives total approximately 130,000 images. The Hudson's Bay Company Archives has the largest holding of fur trade maps in North America. There are more than 12,000 maps, charts, plans and architectural drawings, dating between the years 1563 and about 1982.<br />http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/about/hbca.html<br />The Hudson's Bay Company Archives (HBCA) Library is a valuable research resource. It contains over 10,000 titles (books, articles, periodicals, videos and CD-ROMs) on the HBC, especially its fur trade; Aboriginal peoples of North America; and the history of western Canada, the USA and the Arctic. The library was enlarged considerably in the year 2000 by the acquisition of the library of The Beaver magazine. There is a significant rare book collection, which includes some of the personal library of fur trader Peter Fidler (1769-1822) and books from libraries maintained at posts such as York Factory.The library is accessible only in the Manitoba Archives Building. A partial catalogue is available online through the <a href="http://library.gov.mb.ca/uPortal/Initialize?uP_tparam=props&props=HBCA&uP_reload_layout=true">Library Information Portal</a>. Photocopies of articles and portions of books can be sent to patrons, unless the physical condition of the book prevents photocopying.<br /><a href="http://library.gov.mb.ca/uPortal/tag.idempotent.render.userLayoutRootNode.uP?uP_root=root&uP_sparam=activeTab&activeTab=1"></a>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-76004865209486295272008-03-11T18:58:00.008-04:002008-03-11T19:48:22.926-04:00Fort Battleford National Historic Site<div align="left"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">F</span><a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/sk/battleford/index_e.asp"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">ort Battleford</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"> is located at the junction of the North Saskatchewan and Battle rivers, northwest of present-day Saskatoon. The fort marks several major advancements and events of the Canadian military and government over the history of white settlement throughout the Prairies. It also attempts to recreate the Aboriginal history within the area that often is overlooked and mythologized. The preservation of </span><a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/sk/battleford/index_e.asp"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">Fort Battleford</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"> as a National Historic Site is one of important contribution to Canadian culture and </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3m7HOI6HWLykth6fFvPzhIfXf4i4FR-Pj3iaHX8_pFGueriUh7oKAxIMb56JF2i2_J0wDlffujjqCa6T5P8noc81Jzk4w8SSEG_GMk1VzWTG-oQFfM4d_hGZ1JQx3rI8Ha7aVRDIL3o0M/s1600-h/Battleford.jpg"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176625340820149650" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3m7HOI6HWLykth6fFvPzhIfXf4i4FR-Pj3iaHX8_pFGueriUh7oKAxIMb56JF2i2_J0wDlffujjqCa6T5P8noc81Jzk4w8SSEG_GMk1VzWTG-oQFfM4d_hGZ1JQx3rI8Ha7aVRDIL3o0M/s320/Battleford.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">nationalism as a whole because of its association with the early conflicts of settling and 'civilizing' Western Canada. In beginning to interpret its importance as an official Heritage Site, a brief understanding of its historical time line is necessary followed by a look at the proposals presented in favour of its creation. </span></div><div align="left"><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">Battleford was established as a military barrack for the </span><a href="http://www.nwmpmuseum.com/historyofthenwmp.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">North West Mounted Police</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"> and the first capital of the former Northwest </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPa3Jsu41B3JZEVBwW91P735SX1vsE_ElVfdtljA4m-HjHpBaDVt73tayvmw3GcTp8I1y_Yjx5r8dCa-MdOBGnxDCRLG334LyAPUPzDuoms94kHGFOBLjMjwhXRoD6-nY9hnw8JtLw4Wi-/s1600-h/fort+battle+ford+NWMP.gif"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176626006540080562" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="173" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPa3Jsu41B3JZEVBwW91P735SX1vsE_ElVfdtljA4m-HjHpBaDVt73tayvmw3GcTp8I1y_Yjx5r8dCa-MdOBGnxDCRLG334LyAPUPzDuoms94kHGFOBLjMjwhXRoD6-nY9hnw8JtLw4Wi-/s320/fort+battle+ford+NWMP.gif" width="245" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">Territories in 1876. Prior to confederation, the region of the prairies was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company and few non-native settlements had been established west of Manitoba boarders. The Canadian Dominion was pushing for control over the nation from Atlantic to Pacific and the Northwest Territories stood in the way as a land which required registered settlement and good governing. In the eyes of the elite, a fort for the NWMP suited best for initiating the push of the Frontier westward. This action was performed in most part in hopes to break the 'savagery' of the existing Native tribes and peacefully incorporate them into civilized society. In 1885, mounting fears of physical conflict had put both the Métis/Native peoples and the NWMP settlements into a relationship with a thin breaking point. Members of the local tribes had </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbH5QbD_xmTPdDqX9XCVHO2qRbV2QBCDVIn0iJLH2GPM3Xb8Tx8ydy_XA1miJi0efIJYQJnkVYCJqvdy09zG1_DdlXJg2Th7VPjb3Pft0hofjxRemjl8GJHbhnPd7MGgK-R0eXM0lD3k40/s1600-h/poundmaker.gif"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176625744547075490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbH5QbD_xmTPdDqX9XCVHO2qRbV2QBCDVIn0iJLH2GPM3Xb8Tx8ydy_XA1miJi0efIJYQJnkVYCJqvdy09zG1_DdlXJg2Th7VPjb3Pft0hofjxRemjl8GJHbhnPd7MGgK-R0eXM0lD3k40/s320/poundmaker.gif" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">gathered under Chief Poundmaker to confront the local Native Agent at the fort in order to express their concerns for the intrusion of the Federal government. Simultaneously, the police stationed at the fort had received several escaped captives of a travelling family bringing news of the murder of other family members by a Cree tribe. With tensions already high, Battleford opened as a refuge for settlers and stood ready in expectance of an attack from the arriving tribe members. With tensions high conflict broke out at nearby Cut Knife Hill, which resulted in the trial and execution of eight native prisoners back in Battleford. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">The 'metropolitan' standpoint, which Walter Hildebrandt opposes in his work Views from Fort Battleford, is one which is based on the glorification of NWMP and western settlement. The presentations and information on display at the Heritage site today attempt to enforce equal attention to the viewpoints of both parties in the face of the conflict which broke out during the Rebellions/Resistances of that year. The period from 1885 until the forts closure in 1924 represents a notable turning-point in federal government action. During this period the federal government saw the First Nations and Métis effectively as obstacles to the grand vision of confederation and referenced the Northwest Rebellions as a need to further assimilate or seclude their populations. Initially, the NWMP were recommended to enforce the terms of the Indian Act more efficiently. Significant amendments were made to restrict religious ceremonies such as potlatches and outline actions for removal of reserve land in 1885 and 1905 respectively to insure safety for arriving immigrants. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">Upon the closure of the operational fort in 1924, the site was designated with historical recognition by the </span><a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/clmhc-hsmbc/clmhc-hsmbc1_E.asp"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;">Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC)</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"> and commemorated with the iconic Heritage Site</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAhrEtHaTiOjfvv8RNgMA9X6XBHQxJm6-T9RfAwc9uSd8bqry7MQ86p9rYG_iv10A3LOhH-94_sNvKXtCtn6UCIw1IVIw8d_33_ItyqvfgOARA1wSma-VrZKjQghX7RZSNFh2geXi-sF2/s1600-h/plaque.jpg"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176626311482758594" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAhrEtHaTiOjfvv8RNgMA9X6XBHQxJm6-T9RfAwc9uSd8bqry7MQ86p9rYG_iv10A3LOhH-94_sNvKXtCtn6UCIw1IVIw8d_33_ItyqvfgOARA1wSma-VrZKjQghX7RZSNFh2geXi-sF2/s320/plaque.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;"> bronze plaque. The story portrayed during its opening years focused mainly on the metropolitan depiction common of the time period, holding little truth for First Nation representations. In the late 1940s, significant demand led Campbell Innes and several other scholars to insist that the HSMBC incorporate the First Nations voice into the historic site. Today, the displays and tours are geared to present a truthful representation of the events specific to Battleford in order to allow visitors a chance to relive the experiences as they had happened many years ago. Furthermore, it does not stand alone as the only educational institution in the region, sharing the town with the Western Development Museum and several other tourist information attractions. Together these establishments hope to educate the public by creating meaningful relationships with the past and encouraging nationalism. </span><br /></div>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-63290368548700155662008-03-11T18:20:00.000-04:002008-03-12T08:39:59.616-04:00Winnipeg Railway Station: Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site #76<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9_aq4FFMA9gbQ581QZI39FuuavmokG-JMdC-sXqJyv-ekt_SmoZEpYwKUGkYkwh8uFOi_R9xY-0D8wwqB5qoSA54TL51aYRpFm-g40rcIdwiyxtD4t7PeLG2ro_zfCDugRkbTZbL_qRC/s1600-h/p076.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9_aq4FFMA9gbQ581QZI39FuuavmokG-JMdC-sXqJyv-ekt_SmoZEpYwKUGkYkwh8uFOi_R9xY-0D8wwqB5qoSA54TL51aYRpFm-g40rcIdwiyxtD4t7PeLG2ro_zfCDugRkbTZbL_qRC/s320/p076.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176830619474737794" /></a><br /><br />What is the purpose of a National Historic Site?<br />-physical landmark of events and places presenting the history of diversity in Canada, as not to be lost into the generic British cultural past<br /><br />What does the former CPR Railway Station (Winnipeg Railway Station (Canadian Pacific) National Historic Site of Canada) represent?<br /><br />“The magnificence of this former CPR station in Winnipeg reflected the extraordinary prosperity of Winnipeg: the gateway to the Prairies. It also echoed the boundless optimism of those who passed through its great halls. Waves of newcomers, each with visions of a better life, and so they still come today. Each wave introduces new ways of doing things – new dreams and new visions. The challenge for people who came before is how to accommodate these new dreams and visions.”<br /><br />http://www2.parkscanada.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/racines-roots/itm4-video/continent_e.asp <br />“The former Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Station is one of the province's most notable sites. Between 1904, when the building was completed, and 1914, when the great waves of immigration were dwindling, thousands of Prairie homesteaders passed through its grand portico.<br />The station was designed by the renowned Montreal firm of Edward and W.S. Maxwell. At the Winnipeg CPR Station, the Maxwell brothers created an early Canadian example of the Beaux-Arts Classical style. That style was very popular throughout Europe and North America for the construction of large public buildings. The huge columns of the station's portico and the richly ornamented façade are hallmarks of the style. The great size of the building, and the choice of style, reflected the CPR's prosperity and ex-pectations for an illustrious future for the West.”<br /><br />http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/prov/p076.html<br />This site is unique because it represents the cultural diversity that existed because of immigration in to the West. ‘Most designated heritage sites preserved in Manitoba either have a strong association with the Hudson’s Bay Company or are associated with the stronghold Ottawa and the military were able to assert on the West.(Ricketts, 11)’ <br /><br />In the 19th century Canada population was predominantly British and French. It was essentially a variant of British culture where the majority of the population was white, protestant, anglo-saxon, and English speaking. Canada’s west was largely unsettled. The Canadian government saw settling the west as synonymous with economic success for the country at large. Sir John A. MacDonald passed the Dominion Lands Act in 1872 that would provide settlers with 160 acres of land in the west for a small $10 fee. “Macdonald’s governments opened the Western prairies for settlement by making treaties with aboriginal peoples, surveying the land and offering homesteads, and creating the North-West Mounted Police to maintain law and order.” Great Britain was the first target of the Dominion Lands Act to settle the west but the invitation was extended to a variety of Northern and Eastern Europeans. The goal of the Prime-Minister was to settle the west with a largely homogeneous population. Those who settled the west around the turn of the century were Irish, German, Russian, Scandinavian, and Icelandic. <br /><br />This site is unique because it doesn’t represent the greater British culture that existed, especially in central Canada and the East, but the great variety of immigrants who co-existed and eventually assimilated. <br /><br />http://www.primeministers.ca/macdonald/issues.php <br /><br />Recommended Reading<br /><br />Knowles, Valerie. Strangers at our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1540-1997. (Toronto: Dundurn, 1997)..http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-80662823227131818492008-02-20T00:43:00.001-05:002008-02-20T00:43:56.663-05:00YouTube, Facebook and Blogs : Do they matter?<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/NR6f06rJ-KU' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/NR6f06rJ-KU'/></object></p></div>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-62295490731295837512008-02-12T17:13:00.000-05:002008-02-13T00:09:05.420-05:00Russell and Remington @ Calgary's Glenbow MuseumThere is a museum in Calgary, Alberta, ‘Where the World Meets the West’. This is Glenbow Museum, which also houses <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnGlJ9JUwD1DgjvpKc1vfCOM7_IfVhyphenhyphen-yiEWTkKNtEy7JetIh15BTyMcA3CBci1JYlfsUm8yTQUEQCRSBs4g2SO87XoKx5RQgLsjiJKMnj1-11tXaA8aEvZ0pKWBqC5-yJ2pA-S_1UR7p/s1600-h/GlenbowMusum.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166314959170756066" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="204" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnGlJ9JUwD1DgjvpKc1vfCOM7_IfVhyphenhyphen-yiEWTkKNtEy7JetIh15BTyMcA3CBci1JYlfsUm8yTQUEQCRSBs4g2SO87XoKx5RQgLsjiJKMnj1-11tXaA8aEvZ0pKWBqC5-yJ2pA-S_1UR7p/s320/GlenbowMusum.jpg" width="264" border="0" /></a>an art gallery, a library, and an archive. It is one of the largest museums in Canada, but is most recognized for being a cultural institute that embraces the many interesting historical artworks, artifacts, and documents of the Canadian West. Their official website - <a href="http://www.glenbow.org/">http://www.glenbow.org/</a> – provides prospective visitors with a myriad of information that explain their displays and program objectives.<br /><br />Their mandate is “to promote and encourage the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge of the human race, its art, its history and the nature of the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-1dopn2IrfCN-8d2znIgbCU5lca8HpAk8IZBNaqTnQSGuTNnwXCsfrA5XPjmtDRklEENimtjRxXMmXJ9U7zQ-HXJhorfX5vT4E-zXK2JxPKtVpVooyMgzvtNpozxUpiYGsOWDKsE0twI/s1600-h/calgary+alberta.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166315779509509618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="219" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-1dopn2IrfCN-8d2znIgbCU5lca8HpAk8IZBNaqTnQSGuTNnwXCsfrA5XPjmtDRklEENimtjRxXMmXJ9U7zQ-HXJhorfX5vT4E-zXK2JxPKtVpVooyMgzvtNpozxUpiYGsOWDKsE0twI/s200/calgary+alberta.png" width="139" border="0" /></a>world in which it lives, in the manner that best serves the educational and cultural needs of Albertans.” Glenbow prides itself on their ability to preserve western culture as well as maintain standards of museum practice that both attract and retain “the best citizens for Calgary.” Being located in the heart of southern Alberta provides Glenbow with an audience that can both learn and contribute to their success.<br /><br />In 2004, an exhibit was put together that would focus heavily on the museums mandate, goals, and abilities as mentioned above. Creatively and suitably titled ‘Capturing Western Legends’, it was a demonstration of the works created in the early 20th century by American artists Charles Russell and Frederick Remington. Their drawings, paintings, and sculptures stand as a marker for the fantastic Hollywood stories and legends based on the dominate frontier prairies of the past. These works have been so influential that today their iconic images hold strong cultural value when describing the Canadian West.<br /><br />The first artist, <a href="http://www.fredericremington.org/">Frederic Sackrider Remington </a>(1861-1909), was born in New York and spent much of his life in Eastern America. In the 1880s he travelled <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTu_Dj4R9TNDRyJOjFNbbggX9JeeMckZMq__-EkhCANusPRyACGwV314pMBX3rojWd94szb6rTQsv0VZ9lyUh5wXRPirpkGxx6j_iLBZL1_nv885JU0SdN7DU988a3NsRfoxCyCbslmmA/s1600-h/fred+remington.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166316578373426706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTu_Dj4R9TNDRyJOjFNbbggX9JeeMckZMq__-EkhCANusPRyACGwV314pMBX3rojWd94szb6rTQsv0VZ9lyUh5wXRPirpkGxx6j_iLBZL1_nv885JU0SdN7DU988a3NsRfoxCyCbslmmA/s320/fred+remington.jpg" border="0" /></a>west to Montana where he first experienced the thrill and beauty of the western frontier. Here he came to grip with his artistic talents and gained much success exploring and depicting the most profitable aspects of cowboy and Native American life. Employed by two growing American magazine publishers, Harpers Weekly and Colliers, he profited greatly enough to focus solely on painting and sculpture for income. Many of the works on display at the Glenbow museum were not created until after 1887 when Remington first ventured north into the Canada Rockies. These centre upon and depict the power and pride of the Canadian Mounties, the sensation of the Hudson’s bay company fur trade, and Native Canadian life as understood by citizens of the time period.<br /><br />The Second Artist, <a href="http://www.cmrussell.org/">Charles Marion Russell </a>(1864-1926), was also American, born in Missouri, though settled within frontier lands of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkda3ivjDIMvTkBHWf4-kIx-hs-yeECjlEP4NDrKPI7YaMJ44-sVyFjOWYTBBjQ72IG8RWDaLlNN0nsD2ICmjypTk8Nmf_p9n4BI7wrak4ZEi2BeC1o2WcbVXjoxqyD84TVtgpwR478p_/s1600-h/charles+russell.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166316415164669442" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzkda3ivjDIMvTkBHWf4-kIx-hs-yeECjlEP4NDrKPI7YaMJ44-sVyFjOWYTBBjQ72IG8RWDaLlNN0nsD2ICmjypTk8Nmf_p9n4BI7wrak4ZEi2BeC1o2WcbVXjoxqyD84TVtgpwR478p_/s320/charles+russell.jpg" border="0" /></a>Montana at the age of sixteen. He first found a living as a rancher, only making sketches of the west in his spare time. He traveled to the Canadian west shortly after Remington had, in 1888. Here he spent much of his time with Native Canadians, learning of their lifestyle and creating numerous art works to record and explain his experiences. Russell gained a loyal audience within the members of the prairie west and was invited to exhibit his talent at Calgary’s first ‘Stampede’ in 1912.<br /><br />These two famed artists, almost heroic idols for some, are popular for their representation of the Frontier. The significance of the ‘Frontier’ at the time of Russell and Remington is that it taught and enforced numerous morals and values that came to be glorified in the wild and lusty characters of Hollywood Western films. The harsh conditions and vast expanse of the Western region had turned the ‘boys’ into ‘men’ and the ‘men’ into leaders for centuries. As the 20th century and industrialism brought the Frontier to a close, the impact of art works from the men like Russell and Remington grew stronger as outlets to remind and teach new generations of their cultural past.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166317755194465826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMaeZqHSgLbZUCuT_KSUmuhurC-aqLsyRImlJoKcMIzmwjdxhZ4QI64sUoNyb5YpcDvzCPPAFHF8w6SaZAnFiviKHFCYCaBd_TsBdZDxaWUd9NwFZCv5x4BXbqB3CN9YMlI9AuDSa4DmaK/s320/bronco+buster.jpg" border="0" />Capturing Western Legends arrival at Glenbow museum allowed them to present to the people of the 21st century, the culture their ancestors had thrived upon. Though the two chosen artists for this exhibit are from the industrial urban east of America, one should not conclude that there weren’t any works created from within the Canadian West. The fact that these men, born in the lands they were, had become so fascinated and endeared to the western lands, can only enforce the value and attraction that these mystic ‘legendary’ lands contained.<br /><br />Below are two examples of the type of legends that came to life through the drawings, paintings and sculptures of Charles Russell and Frederic Remington. Though these myths are today mere pieces of the past, they still serve as major cultural conduits of Prairie and Canadian society as a whole, however highly elaborated and romanticised as they are..http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-3717968251492369652008-02-12T17:00:00.000-05:002008-02-13T00:07:57.523-05:00The Blackfoot PeopleRemington captured portraits of the Blackfoot people of Western Canada, their artifacts and way of life. He sketched only what he saw, and did not try to embellish. He did this with respect and permission from Crowfoot, the Blackfoot head chief. In his art, Remington decidedly captured the Blackfoot people as they were in the past, he “did not record the transformation that was being wrought on these people. He chose instead to portray them as warriors and nomadic hunters. Harper's Weekly referred to the Blackfoot as "the Apaches of the past," remarking on their legendary bellicosity, their "warlike character," and their "independent manner." (7) Remington's attraction to the Blackfoot was dependent in large pan on the warrior ethos that permeated their culture and parallelled his own penchant for military activity. It was these qualities of the Blackfoot people that most intrigued him, not the painful realities of the reservation acculturation process that were everywhere in evidence”.<br /><br />Remington couldn’t have been more wrong...<br /><br />According to Glenbow Museum’s permanent Gallery on the Niitsitapiisini or Blackfoot people, they are an independent spiritual people and have been for thousands of years, until the Europeans came and began encroaching upon their culture.<br /><br />The Blackfoot were a resourceful people who lived together off of the land stretching from “Elk River, now called the North Saskatchewan River, south to Yellowstone River. We lived along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and eastward beyond the Great Sand Hills in what is now called <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8uZQXgM5wlS1vQlGzvagpeT1mm6dTpmGBJEg0Bz93_o_bX01XaEIg2pYQKjQk6J0-qlAsiKLcTyGTDkkYGb2V06jXnU_VCvMx9zue6hIWfvrQ6AbH_SfKzitbzC7NYDiA-iHWCtPsziW/s1600-h/location.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166324034436652594" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8uZQXgM5wlS1vQlGzvagpeT1mm6dTpmGBJEg0Bz93_o_bX01XaEIg2pYQKjQk6J0-qlAsiKLcTyGTDkkYGb2V06jXnU_VCvMx9zue6hIWfvrQ6AbH_SfKzitbzC7NYDiA-iHWCtPsziW/s320/location.jpg" border="0" /></a>Saskatchewan. It is an immense land with some of the richest natural resources in the world”. The gathered herbs, plants and berries for survival and hunted as well. They were respectful of the land and its resources and were careful not to deplete it always moving…but with purpose.<br /><br />Blackfoot’s Beliefs:<br />“In order to understand us you need to understand the world around us."<br /><a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/media/audio/keywords/creator.mp3" target="_blank">Ihtsipaitapiyopa</a> is the name we give to the Essence of All Life. This is Creator, the Source of All Life. Ihtsipaitapiyopa made all living things equal. Human beings were not given the right to rule over or exploit the rest of nature. We recognize plants, animals, and rocks as other living beings who are different from us but also our equals.Each plant or animal has unique gifts and abilities that they share with humans. Some plants can cure our diseases, others give us important nutrients. Buffalo are strong animals<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxtiZgkMo-qXu5HI_NQno2DTBca5pdrM3a0dvPWr6jOWCR1Rl9oBLJFh1Q_7MGd-bRt8GYRjA9GcC3U_bImo2wVeOssYUrzUqBzt1RNl-egI0Dxn5-WxMrhFn2YjZHyeTuu7yZNAfwbmJ/s1600-h/milkriver.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166324193350442562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxtiZgkMo-qXu5HI_NQno2DTBca5pdrM3a0dvPWr6jOWCR1Rl9oBLJFh1Q_7MGd-bRt8GYRjA9GcC3U_bImo2wVeOssYUrzUqBzt1RNl-egI0Dxn5-WxMrhFn2YjZHyeTuu7yZNAfwbmJ/s320/milkriver.jpg" border="0" /></a> that once provided much of what we needed for survival. Birds are swift flyers who helped warriors to be stealthy and quick.These animals visited us in human form and taught us how to call on them for their special gifts. This is how we became so closely connected to the beings with whom we share the earth.<br /><br />We use the word <a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/media/audio/keywords/the_people.mp3" target="_blank">Niitsitapi</a> to refer to ourselves and all other First Nations people. This means “Real People.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/media/audio/keywords/buffalo.mp3" target="_blank">Iinii</a> (buffalo) are strong, fearless animals who knew how to survive on the plains.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/media/audio/keywords/wolf.mp3" target="_blank">Makoyi</a> (the wolves) taught us that animals with hooves and horns would provide us with food. Elk also gave us their hides to made clothing.<br /><br />Aimmoniisi (otter), <a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/media/audio/keywords/beaver.mp3" target="_blank">Ksisststaki</a> (beavers) and other water beings have special powers they sometimes share with human beings.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/media/audio/keywords/sun.mp3" target="_blank">Naato'si</a> (the Sun) gives us our life on earth. He is a very important Above Person.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/media/audio/keywords/thunder.mp3" target="_blank">Ksiistsikomm</a> (Thunder) is one of the most powerful beings. He also brings us the summer rains that we need for good grazing.”<br /><br />T<a href="http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/EN/html/traditional_stories.htm">raditional Stories of the Blackfoot—the real legends of the Canadian Frontier</a><br />Has Glenbow Museum given a fair representation of Western Legends?<br />Yes, I believe they have done justice to the art and lives of both Russell and Remington. Their work has been untouched, and their artistic objectives have not been compromised by reality.<br /><br />On the other hand, a more accurate depiction of the Blackfoot people has been given as well. There is a permanent exhibit at the museum dedicated to the real lives of the Blackfoot people. It is a great resource for teachers, students, and those interested in part of Canada’s past.<br /><br />I believe that Glenbow Museum has taken appropriate measures since the 1988 Olympics to embrace bi-culturalism, at least where the Niitsitapiisini people are concerned..http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-70200773136416910232008-02-12T16:59:00.000-05:002008-02-13T00:08:38.895-05:00The Cowboys of the Prairies<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0NniPnisMXVlzTONLAARYRMP10DCo3JSbC7LYpxJCinhrCZX8UfdwTaqfD1-mscGagH2-H7YDpMYhFM5H4SdDu6MkqcPwItDyUG11MwQBIK75A6HpYoTM4UKuSE0ESPysOt3yqPjplRB/s1600-h/Russell+Bear.jpg"><span style="font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166313490291940786" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 276px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 205px" height="198" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU0NniPnisMXVlzTONLAARYRMP10DCo3JSbC7LYpxJCinhrCZX8UfdwTaqfD1-mscGagH2-H7YDpMYhFM5H4SdDu6MkqcPwItDyUG11MwQBIK75A6HpYoTM4UKuSE0ESPysOt3yqPjplRB/s200/Russell+Bear.jpg" width="267" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Do the people of Western Canada actually wish to be seen as ranchers? This is what made the west famous, farmers growing wheat and Ranchers herding cattle. There is no denying that this is a big part of prairie history and even today it is still remembered and cherished as the prairie way of life. We have tried to deny this before but perhaps it is inevitable that the prairies are famous and proud to be cowboys. The Calgary stampede continues to be a big part of their culture and everyone dresses up like cowboys and girls and watches races and wrangle bulls.<br /><br />The artwork of Charles M. Russell was proudly exhibited in Alberta’s biggest museum, proving that perhaps they are proud that this type of characteristic cowboy artwork is their culture. Charles Marion Russell was born in Missouri in </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKukUfeEfyk79v_0Pu8RKqNz1IKQ4c6bnXF5WXliop1kT3KpW9QX-W_qPhA6n2JmFPci_N8A4WQSyEzLUdgrfzYGW1Ssy0BBRF0iJSbjchu4JWbbfMJZ_MY9N6mtg9DUhaSja9qMWPcL4P/s1600-h/Russellwarcouncil.jpg"><span style="font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166313795234618834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKukUfeEfyk79v_0Pu8RKqNz1IKQ4c6bnXF5WXliop1kT3KpW9QX-W_qPhA6n2JmFPci_N8A4WQSyEzLUdgrfzYGW1Ssy0BBRF0iJSbjchu4JWbbfMJZ_MY9N6mtg9DUhaSja9qMWPcL4P/s320/Russellwarcouncil.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;">1864, since he was a young boy he had always been captivated by Indians and cowboys, constantly reading books about them. Through his life he painted over 2000 painting of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in Western United States. In 2004 the Glenbow museum hosted an exhibit entitled “Capturing Western Legends: Russell and Remington’s Canadian Frontier”. It boasted that both artists created the iconic images of the West as they visited the northwest frontier at the turn of the century. However, at the turn of the century when times were starting to change and Canada was becoming its own nation was the acceptance and perseverance of his art more harm to our society and culture than a help? His works of art are stereotypical and were action shots of cowboys fighting Indians, Indians holding meetings, and wildlife and nature. However, they were beautiful paintings and perhaps a way to look at the past and see the Wild West’s roots. The fact that his art was celebrated almost 100 years after, shows that we still see the west as a wild free range on which cowboys still reign and Indians are not tame, but inferior. The Glenbow Museum is the largest in Alberta and houses a lot of famous paintings especially trying to focus on preserving Western culture.<br /><br />Seven years previous to this exhibit the museum also hosted an exhibit showing the “Canadian Cowboy”, it focused on three aspects of cowboys; the working cowboy, the performing cowboy and the imaginary cowboy. By tying these three types of cowboys together it symbolizes that those who are ranch hands on a farm in Alberta are no different than those who perform at the Calgary stampede or the image that we have of John Wayne and his many cowboy movies as an imagined cowboy/hero who always saves the day. Visitors to this exhibit were even invited to dress up in cowboy clothing and have their picture taken with a cowboy.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166313666385599938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23zAkpzvlO5-zm8vMoWv-7mYb0gGJ5WXMYJePi0sCcROtfwQMuhY3AwCWL2vU8_Z7EgX2qLiZ8jbP6p4pEcecBH77YqrDKIgNgLPSzUviaC45tjSXW47I8UMo8AjYLSb-BjuYiKpjM-NY/s320/Russell+cowboy.jpg" border="0" />Russell was definitely the kind of man who knew a real cowboy and tried to make his pictures depict that as much as he could. It doesn’t appear that he was as interested in the lighter side of cowboy ranching but took it seriously and seen them as real working men. </span><a href="http://www.netlibrary.com.proxy2.lib.uwo.ca:2048/Reader/"><span style="font-size:100%;">He was very interested in them and what they did as is seen in Cowboys, Ranchers, and the Cattle Business</span></a><span style="font-size:100%;">:<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCn6XgpKnnHZSv4_dlY0o5f7J2So1uka2IpSDJmTSVVuTCD7JN7UjuMTB6pGv8cSGohZdySuBVr36TCkFgD_FoDsFexc2NAcbr0wNhFf_0-UC8stU37LxS9CPi0GDeL_abwXDnL812RGv0/s1600-h/Lewis_and_clark-expedition.jpg"><span style="font-size:100%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166313361442921890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCn6XgpKnnHZSv4_dlY0o5f7J2So1uka2IpSDJmTSVVuTCD7JN7UjuMTB6pGv8cSGohZdySuBVr36TCkFgD_FoDsFexc2NAcbr0wNhFf_0-UC8stU37LxS9CPi0GDeL_abwXDnL812RGv0/s200/Lewis_and_clark-expedition.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;">But the question is, was the museums idea to show him as a painter who knew what he was painting and to the best of his ability depicting the real life cowboys? If so, why was this exhibit held just a few years after the other one that showed the more Hollywood side of Cowboys?</span>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-84448431517327951042008-01-11T11:18:00.001-05:002008-01-11T11:18:50.291-05:00Geminis Saskatchewan Spoof<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/ic8xwB6XtHM' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/ic8xwB6XtHM'/></object></p><p>DO NOT call The Prairies flat!</p></div>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-64444445717205856152007-12-03T18:38:00.000-05:002007-12-04T21:08:21.176-05:00Candian Literature: Regionalism and Nationalism<span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">The next topic for discussion within this Blog on the </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Prairies"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Canadian Prairies</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> is to assess a few important, culturally significant, literary novels pertaining to the Prairie region. Through this assessment there are several questions to be asking. The first is a simpler one - What effect has the region of the Prairies had on its prominent literary scholars? The second is to imagine what role Prairie regionalism plays in defining an overall Canadian Nationalism. In addition, several scholarly journals that have addressed issues very similar to the topic at hand will be referred to along the way.</span><span lang="EN-CA"><br /><br />The first work is one of author </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Ostenso"><span style="font-size:+0;">Martha Ostenso</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA">’s, her novel Wild Geese, </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXdHMVBgzxGFfDhIa8-JYVN6zH71YclwwxxYnnL3_CrBBnrMgBIcFROK9nhVm17opvUJYEiAfoaB7pZ0VMtyLVKCSMjs-V83Ya04b57NnrYYuPtIs0I2MH8Pnx3qP1YxlZfnaU8A5N5hpn/s1600-r/ostenso.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139898355988476946" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; WIDTH: 156px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 255px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MD9yxr0g-2d8ZcIaBAM7tvC34IyZI_4WWfZGQp6UUawrulpqJqPYYy3fwopbnNbutugPwPdEODO45bMbrJvUKHDlnKYtDlTFAylv1WqlAsHmGRLUn2oRLd4t9slzAgkczhVj6KQ_i629/s200/ostenso.jpg" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-CA">which is noted for a</span><span lang="EN-CA"> particularly realist approach to</span><span lang="EN-CA"> storytelling. The characters in the book all face real and common problems of what the citizens of the west had faced throughout much of their history. Based in a small Saskatchewan town called Oeland, the children of the Gare family have a hard time escaping the traditional tyranny of a farming father dedicated to the land. In Susan Wood’s article “</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.0022-3840.1980.1402_350.x?journalCode=jpcu"><span style="font-size:+0;">God’s Doormats: Women in Canadian Prairie Fiction</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA">,” from the Journal of Popular Culture, the realist aspects of Canadian literature are attended to. More specifically, the role of the female figure, her hardships, and the obstacles she faced in adjusting to the Prairies are Wood’s focus in addressing the growth of a Canadian Nation. She mentions that the real focus of Wild Geese “is on the rebellion of Amelia Gare, a true ‘doormat’ kept in fearful submission to her brutal husband Caleb; and of her daughter Judith.” Her constant reference throughout her article to women as ‘doormats’ intends to bring light to the importance women played alongside their dominant male companions. She praises Wild Geese for its “rejection of romantic formulas and stereotypes, a concern with actual conditions and their psychological effects.”<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Herein lays one necessary aspect towards formulating the effect of Prairie regionalism within Canadian Nationalism. The struggle in a Prairie woman’s life, also gave meaning to her life. This attributes to the ‘strength’ thought of within Canadian nationalism that other regional authors commonly relate to in their works as well. <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><br /><br />In a much less recognized book by Florence Gates, called </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><a href="http://amicus.collectionscanada.gc.ca/aaweb-bin/aamain/itemdisp?sessionKey=999999999_142&l=0&v=0&lvl=1&rt=1&itm=19065897&rsn=S_WWWuca2dqfeW&all=1&dt=%22Gates,+Florence%22&spi=-"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Back to the Coteau Hills</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">, the theme of a ‘true north strong and free’ is further</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> enforced. The book is Florence’s personal narrative of </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qkuhT2H2KlZltLnmWqhEUfhgkJU1nl72YH_suW_erTh2MEA44Bf2HEntqBygnrCumWmMYtHTIPMm9bsFq6ymCSSdkOfGwTWBNgq7R8IZQEIUZMykGZJXdUDib78A9Wg3imnQhXMaUBUu/s1600-r/crossing+the+prairies.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139899176327230498" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpZfhLmiKb_lO4k7etEntMawQj_Ig1Me2mNrTVVQ2soIVY78bGbDCIvBcgB7d8jMV2poc96M77zS2WhVOcQ5pR_30vSuDATx8MEw8bHQuAoVzUwL_ztqi22qqG_NukAT5x-l6gt5eN1tX/s200/crossing+the+prairies.jpg" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">her family’s journey to establish a settlement in southern</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> Saskatchewan. In her introduction she quotes President F.D. Roosevelt when he said that “The West attracts the kind of people who like to do things first.” Furthermore, she mentions that her grandfather, Louis Napoleon Giauque, “descended from French </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadians"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Acadians</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> who fled persecution in Acadia, now the maritime provinces in Canada, to relocate” eventually to the area in southern Saskatchewan known as the </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"><a href="http://www.lakediefenbakertourism.com/story/story_3.html"><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%">Coteau Hills</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%"> (along lake Diefenbaker). The subject of culture and nationalism is constantly brought to attention by referencing the heritage of those around her. Because this book portrays such a universal historical re-enactment of Prairie identity, for many readers it will also reinforce much of the stereotypical visions of Prairie identity that today, may becoming less and less a reality into the future. On this note the last article to mention then is a pessimistic viewpoint of Prairie regionalism and nationalisms existence.</span><span lang="EN-CA"><br /><br /><a href="http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/history/faculty/frieseng.html"><span style="font-size:+0;">Gerald Friesen</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA">, in his article “Defining the Prairies or, Why the Prairies Don’t Exist,” a chapter from Robert Wardhaugh’s <i>Toward Defining the Prairies: Region, Culture, and History</i>, plays the role of the critic in pitching the notion that the Prairie identity has disappeared. In response</span><span lang="EN-CA"> to the impact of realist novels like Ostenso’s and Gates’, Friesen finds that the Prairies that exist</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhus7GFH_gCa0p_SCK1GswX9CiY2ne_D3Fyf-ihr-zwoxGdnimzArK1KgRQKIIcZx0dPnvbuIfvxkgGpixGTlyjQ8nOQ9ug7Zj2fagvEJAeUaPOMR0iifsN0-Y4OpflcFsx_4dhPnYUl3LV/s1600-r/sask.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139899472679973954" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHAyU36_zqEAkVof8UXsCNvJDzl5y3xQzcmmWZWhZ_R0XXOkXGcY6fwZ3nODq370ZSvuhMiOHGXtKazsRChPuHw8nzcv3hx6vKW2ngXpx_9sOzCyFpNOA4_poOgLPJn4FxhtQziTJoDhxu/s200/sask.jpg" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-CA"> today have little in common with</span><span lang="EN-CA"> their typical Prairie past. His proposal is that the period from</span><span lang="EN-CA"> 1867 to the 1930’s “were sufficient to define a new prairie region.” Due to the regions progress, its identity today is far different from the one given to it by the authors writing of its</span><span lang="EN-CA"> characteristics during his outlined peri</span><span lang="EN-CA">od.</span><span lang="EN-CA"> </span><span lang="EN-CA">He feels that the now </span><span lang="EN-CA">“eight percent of prairie Canadians actually</span><span lang="EN-CA"> engaged in farm production” constitutes a necessity to perhaps re-define a new region.<o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-CA"> </span><br /><p><span lang="EN-CA">Three Day Road</span></p><p><span lang="EN-CA">Three Day Road by Joseph Borden is characteristic literature when it comes to Canadian Nationalism within terms of Native peoples. It is the first novel that he has written, being of Native descent himself, but was nicely done. Explained through flashbacks the book talks about how natives were treated within society not just with the main characters but also with the antagonist reminiscing about her childhood. It takes the reader on a timeline of native treatment within Canadian society. Their culture was suppressed and the book sets out to portray this. It also touches on assimilation and how the natives fall prey to the white man and their ways. This can be tied in with articles we have touched on in class. In the Sharon Wall article, Totem Poles, Teepees, and Traditions: ‘Playing Indian’ in Ontario Summer Camps, 1920-1955, she touches on how the children are taught original native ‘traditions’ and how many Natives don’t necessarily embrace those traditions anymore but have been assimilated into British or Canadian society. This seems to raise even more problems when considering Canadian culture, because there is a large population of natives living in Canada and they did/do have their own sense of nationalism unique to ours. Natives also have their own literature, many books are written about their own history and stories that they have to tell. With a long tradition of story telling most of their history is passed on through oral tradition. So not only is prairie literature different and important but the high population of Natives living there and all throughout Canada needs equal consideration.</p><br /><br />Somewhere between Wood, Wall and Friesen’s attempts at engaging a Prairie and Canadian Nationalism is suitably the best place to answer our two questions. The region of the Prairies has had clear impact on the focus and atmosphere of its author’s attention and in turn an effect back on its people in understanding their shared struggles and history. Here is also where the contribution to Canadian Nationalism can be found. The portrayal of the Prairies as a vast farmland worked over by the hardened farmer combines with the struggles of other fellow Canadians who share a different struggle of equal importance. Part of defining a culture includes having shared historical experience, and the traditional distinctiveness of the Prairies plays into the Canadian as the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/anthem_e.cfm"><span style="font-size:+0;">‘true north, strong and free’</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA">.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span><span lang="EN-CA"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeXzIZqYNC8dEDuFL4R8eNuJIuV2wjmYImAFs-7nOuARm9cpD3WOII0mheNNRQSTmn4dpQrrC3IH5hT6pGVfwsO3QHX3GN4QFgrPIO7G1_A6rG0j9kYMiQ3vQ6RvusmUXLySCX7hMca4-/s1600-r/canada+flag+map.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139900340263367762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZr_0Wa6az4xj8-xUTzv-7-wFslcCh_ckR1FJ8l7pZVf30TVP1C0yYI2CQWqzKvi7CmTkmpTAhyphenhyphen4GZDhl8PcB3uK6-08VWF1I0G0sCuJypnyYl5wEPgREtc3cB2VhEU-5uE3nD1jowv2c/s320/canada+flag+map.jpg" border="0" /></a>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-11672458857075441142007-12-03T18:35:00.001-05:002007-12-03T18:35:49.896-05:00Alberta big and wide!<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/FGwC_B4ga9o' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/FGwC_B4ga9o'/></object></p><p>A humorous video of Alberta...</p></div>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-2646745749448850072007-10-22T14:54:00.000-04:002007-10-23T18:58:47.557-04:00Tapping Into The Prairies<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span lang="EN-CA">As you may have already noticed, a trend has been forming in the Prairies. The arrival of different industries has created cultural and ethnical population changes that contribute to what we know the prairies as today.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span lang="EN-CA">The fur trade gave way to English Fur-Traders and merchants who established the first non-native settlements. From this came the establishment of small towns that exist today and natural symbols such as the gopher or beaver. After confederation the task of completing a transcontinental railway brought countless Chinese workers into the picture, though their populations are not as significant into the 20th century. The establishment and growth of agriculture in the west saw the settlement of racially concentrated towns with eastern European heritage, mostly Slavic, Russian and Ukrainian. The agricultural settlements play a crucial role in the strong association of wheat, farmers, cowboys, ranches, crops, grain elevators, tractors, and harvest with the Prairie Provinces.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span lang="EN-CA">The big businesses above contributed not only to the prosperity of the Prairies but to the success of Canada as a whole. But after WWII two businesses came storming onto the provincial, national, and international scene. Previous to these two industries the landscapes and the ‘simplicity’ of the people were the main focus of cultural and ethnical society. These industries come from deep, deep, within the Prairies. Now their technology and machines speckle the horizon, digging into the earth and sucking out its riches. Both industries have become dominant players in the Prairie and Canadian economy. </span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span lang="EN-CA">The first is Potash, of which Canada in 2005, held 1/3 of the world’s estimated supply, and pumping out around 25% of the world’s current production. If you are unfamiliar with this mineral it has several properties once broken down from the ore it is mined as. The most significant being potassium, used as a popular agricultural fertilizer. The largest potash mining company, the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS), was established in 1975, and its annual output averages at around </span><span style="" lang="EN-CA">6 million tonnes out of Canada’s total 9 million. With export prices reaching $360/t in some countries this is a considerable contribution to the industrial sector of the Canadian economy. Not only does the Prairie reserve allow companies like the PCS to maintain a large control over the market price, but also gives assurance for future employment and allows Canadian farmers direct access to the good.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_6" spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'position:absolute;left:0;text-align:left;margin-left:286.5pt;" wrapcoords="-184 0 -184 21323 21692 21323 21692 0 -184 0"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\Eric\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.png" title=""> <w:wrap type="tight"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA">The second is known as ‘black gold’, and is one of the most crucial commodities in the world. From the late 1890s into the mid 20<sup>th</sup> century, oil-hungry business men had attempted to tap into the Western Provinces Oil supply. An area known as Turner Valley </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmEEkuIA_v1bt7cQwwWwYefXVZlt0XfEmIJ2tWyA9NPchCxKusKUQN5r9lqBkqqtNwlUxPHC81u8XlT3VwswZvBOGk2aXfAlvvTdQ1lx4NvkQ8OlGc8xhrJzfESeE38ijuv6DtuQ9qXzX/s1600-h/GW-oil-pump.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcmEEkuIA_v1bt7cQwwWwYefXVZlt0XfEmIJ2tWyA9NPchCxKusKUQN5r9lqBkqqtNwlUxPHC81u8XlT3VwswZvBOGk2aXfAlvvTdQ1lx4NvkQ8OlGc8xhrJzfESeE38ijuv6DtuQ9qXzX/s320/GW-oil-pump.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124238137174044290" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-CA">was the only place to have much success, but other numerous failed attempts drove prospecto</span><span lang="EN-CA">rs of the ‘black gold’ to other ventures. In 1947 hopes grew strong again as the vast supply of Oil became a reality and today it serves as an enormous asset to Canada. Leduc, Alberta was the first city to begin the boom after the discovery of an oil pocket almost 2.5km underground. Anyone who h</span><span lang="EN-CA">as been to the Prairie Provinces and looked out upon the land has somewhere across the flat horizon been able to spot one of the countless Oil well Pumps in the land.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span lang="EN-CA">As the Industry became a well ‘oiled’ profit making machine, the Federal Government began to gain interest towards how they might be able to share in the growing revenue. Discrepancies arose as to which jurisdiction, provincial or federal, held power over the different sectors of oil production. In 1980, Pierre Trudeau created the National Energy Program, despite long-time Albertan Premier - Peter Lougheed’s - protests and demonstrations against federal intervention of the industry. This created a prevailing anti-liberal culture, giving rise to support for conservative, and in Saskatchewan more specifically NDP, governments.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span lang="EN-CA">In recent years the demand for oil and natural gas combined with increasingly sophisticated technology has driven the population of the Prairie Provinces to new heights. With industry sitting around 25-30% of GDP, the Prairies Oil and Mining contributions are definitely symbolic contributors to its culture. The lone oil-pump on the horizon serves as a marker that the ‘simplicity’ of the Prairies people is much underrated. </span></p>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-48513935484011357832007-10-22T14:18:00.000-04:002007-10-23T21:49:16.400-04:00Prairie WheatWhen you think of the prairies you simply think flat and rolling fields of wheat.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Once the harvest season arrives one accepts that there will be bales of hay gathered everywhere and awaiting transportation to local and international customers. Besides beef, wheat is a major symbol of what makes the Prairies, the Prairies. The two combined are the highest exported agricultural products in the three provinces. The Prairies landscape is mainly flat and dry, and once you arrive it seems that not much else is produced here but wheat. Farmers take pride in the wheat they produce and see it as a major contribution to their country, economy and even the world. As wheat mostly goes towards bread, cereals and granola bars they know that they are feeding a great population everyday through the work they do. For most Canadians not a day goes by without consuming some sort of wheat product.<br /><br />The mid-west can only agriculturally support something that can grow in the often cantankerous soil. The southern Canadian prairies, supporting both brown and black soil types, are semi-arid and can be highly prone to frequent and severe droughts (see link below). The region known as Palliser's Triangle is so arid that farming is only successful there with much <span lang="EN-CA">labour</span>, irrigation, and often government aid. <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p><br /><p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><o:p></o:p> </p><p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bWGPLoA6fFRN1fCiqjC-NJvgefBvOtcLOctlGMGWT75YkHu2WyIX35pq1021BDMEwwtErNWBZLq_QgLmhxi_JpD2JYuPn3Uz93JzybtVnLJUhnwzwIb10XVfcDUuD5ahs6cEPN01PxHI/s1600-h/palliser.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124228464907693682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bWGPLoA6fFRN1fCiqjC-NJvgefBvOtcLOctlGMGWT75YkHu2WyIX35pq1021BDMEwwtErNWBZLq_QgLmhxi_JpD2JYuPn3Uz93JzybtVnLJUhnwzwIb10XVfcDUuD5ahs6cEPN01PxHI/s320/palliser.png" border="0" /></a> The northern prairies are a cold and windy area. Crops cannot survive there because of the weather conditions, in an average year, southern Saskatchewan receives between 300 mm (12 in) and 510 mm (20 in) of precipitation, with the majority falling between April and June. Frost from October to April (and sometimes even early May) limits the growing season for certain crops. More than half of the prairies' precipitation falls as snow.<o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">The people of the Prairies have put blood, sweat and tears into making their land the agricultural powerhouse it is today. When settlers arrived in Canada the fur trade was the immediate attraction, but once this started to become an overpopulated job and underpopulated work they had to look elsewhere to find a means of survival. Wheat started to be planted at the end of the nineteenth century in Canada and we are currently the 6th highest wheat producer in the world. Within Canada, wheat is the largest agricultural product with the biggest cash receipt. We keep wheat both for our own use as well as an export to other countries.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">Many farmers banded together in the early twentieth century to demand a fair price for their wheat and many companies were formed in co-operation between the wheat farmers. to name a few there is the Territorial Grain Growers Association, the Farmers Union of Canada which launched the Wheat Pool in 1924. Still today there is the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool which does marketing and international alliances and has become the largest agriculture grain handling operation. The flag for the province of Alberta contains an animated picture of wheat in the foreground and the Rocky Mountains in the background.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Saskatchewan also has pictures of wheat incorporated into their flag.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>This image of wheat blowing in the wind is something that is engraved in every Canadian’s mind when thinking of the Prairies.</p>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-692134392390769421.post-77332350337976622302007-10-22T12:30:00.000-04:002007-10-22T17:59:15.412-04:00The Prairies - Beef<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">What comes to mind when I think of the Canadian prairies is food. I live in Ontario and what I associate with being a Canadian, in the west, is cowboys, their ranches and beef. You might ask why I make this connection. I have been to Calgary once and I saw no authentic cowboys, no cattle ranch, and certainly no cows. So how did this come to be a symbol of Canadian identity?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">One student, Jaelyn Molyneux, at the University of Calgary suggests that we Canadians ‘have been led to believe’ that “Biting into a big, juicy steak is an authentic part of the Alberta experience” (Molyneux, SW10). This is believable because Canadian beef is an important part of the National economy, and an essential part of the Alberta Provincial economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">‘In Alberta alone there were roughly 32 000 cattle producers in 2002 and 5.3 million cattle livestock. This accounts for about forty percent of Canada’s total cattle livestock for beef! Alberta beef makes about $4 billion in transactions a year or “Fifty-one percent of farm production income”. It has been estimated that all in all, Alberta beef makes a total contribution to the National economy of around $15 billion per year’ (Cope).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">So, playing a huge role in the economy and in the lives of some 32 000 cattle producers in Alberta alone is one reason why the rest of Canada associates beef with Alberta.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">Another reason, we might associate being Canadian, in the west, with beef is because it has been so keenly promoted by the Alberta Beef Producers, our government, and private sponsors. ‘In 2003, the Canadian beef industry suffered greatly when a case of bovine spongiform disease (BSE) or mad-cow disease was found in an Albertan cow’ (Forge & Frechette). ‘Canada produces about one third more beef than Canadians consume and it is therefore an important export’ (Cope). The case frightened the Canadian and American public and had dire economic consequences as the US closed their border to live cattle imports from Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">‘Alberta beef exports, worth around $4 billion in 2002, dropped in $2.1 billion in 2003’. Beef’s total contribution to the Canadian economy fell from $30 billion in 2002, to $21 billion”. The impact was substantial, and Alberta needed help. The government provided tens of millions in aid and others did what they could to increase consumption of Alberta beef (Cope).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">In Toronto, a Molson Canadian Rocks concert for SARS supported a campaign called “Canadian Beef Rocks”. “"A delegation went to the concert and participated in the mile-long BBQ," says Cockwill. "We wore cowboy hats, and Premier Klein was there flipping burgers. We had Beef Without Borders." And Canadians responded. Immediately after the crisis broke, consumption rose 60%. "It was the first country in the world that increased consumption in a BSE crisis," says Glaser” (Cope).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">“Alberta Beef Producers were a success. They also continued to commit $8.5</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHaHRhztV9BhX-oPU8tCPrh9REfNPbYiPxBYOsu5X7EhVDwbITbR2OXe1myRdDQnQJ0I71EwJjdMkxlqXjUla4GYvzCyttZq0ohZz0cFSOPCG_6NfqephjOWwee9wM38TDrkEGylhyMz8/s1600-h/beefsmall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 62px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHaHRhztV9BhX-oPU8tCPrh9REfNPbYiPxBYOsu5X7EhVDwbITbR2OXe1myRdDQnQJ0I71EwJjdMkxlqXjUla4GYvzCyttZq0ohZz0cFSOPCG_6NfqephjOWwee9wM38TDrkEGylhyMz8/s320/beefsmall.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124283882870714050" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"> million annually (since the BSE incident in the United Kingdom, 1993) to promote Alberta beef’ (Cope). Their </span><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">slogan being “If it ain’t Alberta, it ain’t beef!” (Cope). This slogan was heard across Canada and helped regain public faith in Alberta beef. It gave Canadians a sense of identity, a way of identifying with the prairies.</span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">"The Stampede markets the cowboy and the cowboy is the producer of beef," says assistant professor and food-culture researcher Gwendolyn Blue. Each year, the Calgary stampede is culmination of what it means to be from the prairies and feeds the symbolic stereotypes of Canadian identity in the west. ‘The whole city dresses up in cowboy hats and boots with spurs’, goes to the stampede and eats Alberta beef (White, L1). Along with the ABP private sponsors contribute because they know it gives a boost to the economy, and ultimately promotes Alberta beef. ‘Infact, the stampede holds a dinner, called The Presidents Rodeo for all of the sponsors and serves them up with Alberta’s finest beef’ (Zelinsky, C5).<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">Alberta beef is an integral part of prairie cuisine and culture. ‘In one article called Redefining Calgary's Seven Wonders the author suggests based on nominations that one of Alberta’s seven wonders might be beef’ (White, L1). White writes “To me, the most quirky new nomination was ginger beef, which received several votes. For those of you who don't know, this is a Chinese-Canadian dish that was refined and popularized in Calgary and has since spread to many parts of the world. John Gilchrist, a fellow Calgary Herald columnist, informed me that in some places, it is known as "Calgary-style Chinese food."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" lang="EN-CA">Alberta beef is synonymous with being Albertan, from the prairies, and Canadian. It is a symbol that represents a large part of Canadian agriculture, the economy, and Canadian diet. Although we are not all cowboys, ranchers, or living in the prairies we all have one thing in common; All over Canada we eat Alberta beef and we reap the economical benefits that are generated by this form of industry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04425194899378367118noreply@blogger.com0