Calgary Briefs - August

Stimson work part of Harbourfront celebrations

Visual and performing artist Adrian Stimson, of the Siksika First Nation, was on stage as part of Harbourfront Centre’s  special two-day Love, Saskatchewan production in July in Toronto. Stimson’s work focuses on the buffalo and one of his 400-lb stuffed bison was displayed at the centre. Stimson views the figure of the buffalo as a metaphor for spirituality, resistance and creativity. As he tells it, “I use the bison as a symbol representing the destruction of the Aboriginal way of life, but it also represents survival and cultural regeneration. The bison is central to Blackfoot being. And the bison as both icon and food source, as well as the whole history of its disappearance, is very much a part of my contemporary life.” Stimson performed Buffalo Boy Cabaret.

Indian Village at Stampede opened by government ministers

Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and Len Webber, Minister of Aboriginal Relations for Alberta, officially opened the Indian Village at the Calgary Stampede venue. The Indian Village began in 1912. “I am really proud to take part in this event today and to have the opportunity to share this experience with people from around the world,” said Strahl in a press release. “This event is an important factor in the economic development of Alberta First Nation communities.” In the same news release, Webber stated that the Indian Village was “a great example of a nearly 100-year partnership between Calgary and its neighbouring First Nations within a province that values its positive relationship with Aboriginal people.” The Stampede ran from July 9-18.

Funds raised for hockey team

The Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary hosted a golf tournament in July to raise funds for the AAA Beardy’s Midgets Hockey Team, a youth hockey team owned and operated by the Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation. Said Betty Recollet,†president of the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, “The (hockey team has) qualified for the Max Bell Tournament which is held during the Christmas holidays here in Calgary. It would help us a lot in efforts to raise funds again for them this year, the funds go towards their travel costs and equipment.”

U of C Press to launch newest book in series

Cultural Memories and Imagined Futures: The Art of Jane Ash Poitras is the newest book in the University of Calgary Press’s Canadian Art series, Art in Profile. The 128-page paperback, which includes 25 colour illustrations, will be available in December, but can be ordered now. The book, written by U of C English professor Pamela McCallum, highlights how in the past decade, Poitras, a First Nations woman from northern Alberta, has emerged as one of the most important Canadian artists of her generation. Cultural Memories and Imagined Futures situates Poitras’ work in the national context of Canadian First Nations art during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the period when she began to receive wide recognition. It is the first book-length study to examine Poitras’ career as a whole, recounting her development as an artist, participation in major exhibitions, and recognition as a significant Canadian and international artist. The book includes a detailed analysis of specific artworks as well as the most extensive bibliography of writings on Poitras to date. The Art in Profile series was launched by University of Calgary Press in 2002 with Ancestral Portraits, a retrospective of the art and life of Frederick R. McDonald, an Alberta First Nations artist of today.

Fundraiser for programming, research

Aboriginal Relations minister Len Webber was in attendance at a barbecue in Calgary that saw Kane’s Harley Division in Inglewood and M & M Meat Shoppes join forces with Stardale Women’s Group Inc. to raise funds for programming and research for the prevention of sexual exploitation of and violence against Aboriginal girls. The program is just some of the work undertaken by Stardale. Stardale girls cooked and sold hotdogs and hamburgers for the cause.

Compiled by Shari Narine