(Almost) Everybody knows about the city of Calgary, also known as the “Gateway to the Rocky Mountains” and because of its annual, word-renowned festival “Calgary Stampede“. This time, however, I approached Calgary in quite a different way: By visiting the so-called “First Nations”, the native people of Calgary, allowing for historical connections and modern life circumstances of Canada t come to life in a most impressive way.
At the Brown Bear Woman Events Centre, we learn how the original settlers of the vast steppes east of the Rocky Mountains spent their lives preserving their traditions into the modern age.
The “Brown Bear Woman Events” welcomes Calgary visitors wishing to dig a bit deeper than the rest.
The “Spotted Elk Business Park” as well as the “Brown Bear Woman Events” Centre, which we reach after about an hour’s drive from the city centre of Calgary, is a joint project of tribal representatives of the Tsuut’ina Nation, an indigenous tribe of Canada. Unlike other indigenous people in the country, they have invested their compensation payments from both the city as well as the state in the further development of their cultural offerings. They have created seminar centers and a kind of adventure park where visitors can learn more about their culture. First out and about, we learn more about traditional facilities such as sweat lodges (the Canadian counterpart to the Finnish sauna), tipis or cultural practices such as children, men or women dances. For me personally, it is especially nice to see that there are many children taking part in the ceremonies, as well as family members of all generations: https://www.brownbearwoman.com.
Starting our discovery tour around the Brown Bear Woman Events Centre …
… we learn more about the type of plants being grown here …
… an original sweat lodge (or rather, the remnants of it) still impresses me deeply …
… and I love how proudly the native tribal members showcase their culture in the form of traditional dances here.
Thank you for such an impressive visit!
The second possibility to learn more about the (indigenous) history of Calgary is the so-called “Heritage Park Calgary”.
Here, too, we are amazed at the variety of visitor experiences offered. The best thing to do is to start your tour directly from the museum, which also offers a cosy restaurant with good regional cuisine. We take an admiring look at the old cars and much older utensils from earlier settlement waves by the first European and Asian immigrants: An Eldorado for adventurers with a taste for history!
Showcasing the “culture of North America”: Right at the entrance to the Heritage Park Calgary.
A little further afield, we finally reach the “Yellow Otter Tipi” by horse-drawn carriage. Representatives of the First Nations there inform us about the meaning of the yellow otter tipi – from the entrance protocol to the ceremony for men and women, which took place in and around the tipis.
The “Yellow Otter Tipi” at the Heritage Park Calgary …
… welcomes us with open arms …
… here, for instance, we learn in a demonstration as to how fire was made in former times …
… and just how other tools were used to create different sets of cultural items …
… finally, we too get to try our hands at some of those practices, for instance, throwing spears!
Truly lovely people you should definitely meet and make time for upon your next visit in Calgary!
Finally, we get to meet with representatives of the so-called “Métis”, whose ancestors consisted of partly white settlers, partly natives of Canada. Today, they proudly praise the merits and marriage of both cultures. Here, we see two charming representatives of them at work …
… a warm welcome to this traditional farm house here at the Heritage Park Calgary …
… where this archaeologist and fascinating storyteller wraps us up in countless tales of old and modern …
… thank you again for such an interesting and inspiring day out! Check out more at https://www.heritagepark.ca.
Following my first visit to Calgary back in 2016, I have already shared some travel tips and stories with you which you might find useful: “72 Hours in Calgary: Music, Drumheller Dinosaurs & the Wild, Wild West.”
More pictures from our culture trip in Calgary are here:
Disclaimer: We have been invited by “Destination Canada” on this culture trip to Calgary. All opinions are my own.