STAMPEDE GETS IT RIGHT
This year’s Calgary Stampede was an unbridled success, and one of the highlights of the 10-day extravaganza is the overdue decision to change the name of Indian Village.
The Stampede does a tremendous job of preserving and showcasing western heritage, but the name Indian Village was one vestige of the past that needed to be brought into the present.
Setting aside the fact our Indigenous people didn’t live in villages — their earliest settlements are better described as encampments — the word Indian is dismissive and has fallen out of favour.
It was important to change the name of the collection of teepees — each with its unique design, with beadwork, buckskin outfits and artifacts on display inside — to better reflect the Stampede’s enduring, respectful partnership with First Nations people.
The 26 teepees that sit on the banks of the Elbow River will now be known as Elbow River Camp.
The name is significant because Indigenous people in the region spoke different languages. When they would prepare to gather at the Stampede, which they’ve done from the outset in 1912, they would point to their elbow and immediately understand the reference to the area. In the Dene, Stoney and Blackfoot languages, the word for Calgary refers to the bend in the Elbow River — the elbow.
As significant as the change in the name is the way it was achieved.
“In the camp, we all put names forward from each teepee, and from that we whittled it down to two names. It was Elbow River Camp or Treaty 7 Camp,” said one of the teepee owners, Michael Meguinis. “Then we all voted on that ... everybody had their say. Everybody is comfortable with this name.”
If only more decisions in life could be reached so amicably. The consultative process that was followed reflects well on the teepee owners and on the Stampede, which is heartfelt about recognizing the contributions of Indigenous people to Calgary, past and present.
The task now, of course, is to agree on a new name for the Indian princess, a prominent participant in the Stampede and community events. That title, too, evokes squeamishness because it is a throwback to a less embracive past.
The Stampede has embodied the best of Calgary and the West for more than a century. It continues to do so today by not only celebrating the traditions of First Nations people, but ensuring they’re treated with the utmost regard.