Perception, Innovation, and Adaptation: The Palliser Triangle of Western Canada

Abstract

Perception, Innovation, and Adaptation: The Palliser Triangle of Western Canada Frank J. Jankunis* It is close to a truism to state that people in novel situations act in terms of past knowledge, experience, and perceptions;1 hence, conventional studies of regional settlement have employed the concepts of diffusion and adoption to interpret resulting cultural characteristics .2 However, to meet exigencies inherent in the settlement of a recently opened area, wholly new perceptions, tools, and institutions are frequently required, especially if unique conditions are faced. Such experiences were apparently embodied in the settlement of certain North American drylands, whose development has been usefully interpreted with respect to the three concepts of perception, innovation, and adaptation.3 By applying identical concepts to the settlement of the Palliser Triangle during its active period of colonization , 1905-1935, the author endeavors to further the understanding of actual experiences in the development of that region, and thus * Dr. Jankunis is Associate Professor of Geography at University of Lethbridge , Alberta, Canada TlK 3M4. 1 H. F. Lionberger, Adoption of New Ideas and Practices (Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State University Press, 1960), p. 91. 2 Clyde F. Kohn, "Settlement Geography" in Preston E. James and Clarence F. Jones, eds., American Geography: Inventory and Prospect (Syracuse University Press, 1964), pp. 125-126, and Harlan H. Barrows, "Geography as Human Ecology," Annals, Association of American Geographers, Vol. 13 (1923), pp. 1-14. 3 Examples of these methods are discussed in W. Eugene Hollon, The Great American Desert: Then and Now (New York: Oxford University Press, 1966), pp. 152-159, and Mary W. M. Hargreaves, Dry Farming in the Northern Great Phins 1900-1925 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957). Walter P. Webb has followed this thread in his major study, The Great Phins (Boston : Ginn and Company, 1931) . 63 64 ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS to broaden the application of behavioral concepts to the processes of area settlement.* Thematic Concepts The early period of homesteading in the Palliser Triangle ( Figure 1), from 1905 to the end of World War I,5 exemplifies the classic pattern of diffusion and adoption processes.6 Settlers in the Triangle brought with them tools, farming methods, and perceptions that were developed in other regions. Perceptions of the former regions were probably adequate since they were based on experience, but ALBERTA SASKATCHEWAN ::::Calgaryi: ::Swift Current.: íííí;:íí;í:*í:ísí¡Sí. :::Regiha¿ ::;^Lëthbr|dge;::: Äii im¦:;MOOSE MTN ::: MANITOBA Figure 1. Location of the Palliser Triangle according to Spry (see Footnote 12), pp. 298-299. Selected cities and landforms are shown for orientation. 4 For examples of this process in other regions, see James C. Malin, Winter Wheat in the Golden Belt of Kansas (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1944) and Donald W. Meinig, On the Margins of the Good Earth, AAG Monograph Series (Chicago: Rand McNaIIy and Co., 1962). For southwest Saskatchewan , see John W. Bennett, Northern Plainsmen: Adaptive Strategy and Agrarian Life (Chicago: Aldine, 1969), p. 14. 5 W. A. Mackintosh, Prairie Settlement: The Geographical Setting, in W. A. Mackintosh and W. L. G. Joerg, eds., Canadian Frontiers of Settlement, Vol. 1 (Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd. at St. Martin's House, 1934), pp. 62-65. 6 Everett M. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations (New York: The Free Press, 1962), p. 13. YEARBOOK · VOLUME 39 · 197765 appreciations of the Palliser Triangle were not in accord with its geographic realities, especially since most information was derived from popular notions, rumors, travelers' tales, and official and institutional reports, sources most frequently designed to entice immigrants rather than prepare them for successful settlement.7 To realize the potential of the Palliser Triangle, basic shortcomings required alleviation. The most pressing was to perceive the environment in its geographic realities. This was originally a problem based on ignorance, but deception contributed to the problem, for people were attracted to the region by misleading advertisements and inept land classification as well as by the lure of free or low-cost land.8 Ignorance of conditions to be met proved to be the major stumbling block to development of the Triangle since most settlers were unprepared for its uniquely harsh features. The result commonly was failure for many immigrants and a change of...