What a Man

Abstract

The Calgary Stampede is a week of entertainment born out of the practices of agricultural exhibitions and American Wild West shows. It provides a cultural display of shared attitudes concerning the popular heritage and development of Canada’s prairie west. This article specifically focuses on the image of First Nations men circulated by the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede during the 20th century. Members of the Treaty 7 Nations—Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, Tsuu T’ina, and Stoney Nakoda Nations—have always contributed to the success of the Calgary Stampede by performing their cultural past for tourists and Calgarians in the Indian Village, in parades, and as competitors. While each of these venues presented specific depictions of Canadian First Nations men, it is in the print materials that popular, White cultural expectations about Indian-ness were most widely circulated. Many portrayals of Stampede First Nations performers focused heavily on their bodies. In some of the promotional materials, as with a number of depictions of indigenous peoples, the Victorian notions of modesty and civility were often literally stripped from the Native body, and “Indians”—in the case of the Stampede, especially men— were depicted partially dressed, often exposing muscular bare-chests. Male aboriginal nudity was mostly the creation of White colonizers, and could be described as a portrayal of “manly Indianness” as they were depicted as physically strong warriors who possessed mastery over their environment.