Stampede Nations

Beyond the rodeo and the chuckwagon races, the Calgary Stampede is one of the country’s longest running public celebrations of Indigenous cultures

- Jenn Fast

Over 140 years ago, the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina Nation and the Stoney-Nakoda Nation all came together in confluence at Blackfoot Crossing. They made a treaty that was designed to permeate and penetrate generations … from here to the end of time.” Blackfoot filmmaker Cowboy Smithx’s voice booms from a video screen showing a sprawling aerial view of southern Alberta’s Blackfoot Crossing at the Calgary Stampede’s TransAlta Grandstand Show.

Smithx was a key part of the creative team for the 2017 show, an elaborate 75-minute stage performance held each night during the Stampede. One of his roles was to ensure Indigenous acts were properly represented. Aptly titled “Together: A Show 150 Years in the Making,” the Grandstand Show incorporated the most Indigenous acts in Stampede history, including three-time world champion hoop dancer Dallas Arcand and a call to ceremony spoken entirely in Blackfoot by Elder Peter Weasel Moccasin before Smithx’s video.

“I’m here to remind all of you, Treaty People of number 7,” Smithx’s voice continues, “that we are here to renew our relationship with Iiniistsi, the Blackfoot word for treaty. Peace, harmony and moving forward, creating new bridges, new beginnings and a future ... It’s time to move forward and it’s time to build this country together.”