For years I’ve stood on the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Stage as the Evening Show’s Master of Ceremonies. I’ve introduced dignitaries and special guests, I’ve entertained the audience with stories, I’ve played run mini chuckwagon races with kids and sometimes in the show I’d get the entire audience involved in a game of “Where are you from?” I’d get people to stand from Eastern Canada, (“yay!”) I’d ask if there was any politicians from Ottawa (“boo!”) I’d ask if there was anyone from the US (“yay!”) What about Edmonton (BOO! Yay Boo YAY) Then we’d see who was from farthest away. South America? Europe? China? Australia?
And the further away people were from, the louder we’d cheer.
If there was time, I’d go into the audience and talk to the faraway people. Sometimes their English was good enough for a conversation, and they’d tell me about always wanting to experience the world famous Calgary Stampede. But a lot of times, they’d point to someone beside them and say, “I came to visit them.” Their cousin, their uncle, or their grown up grandkids.
Which made me wonder… why did their cousins move here? And why some countries but not others? Why are there way more people here from China and the Philippines than from Japan or Korea? Why are there way more people here from Ukraine than Poland? And did they come in waves in a certain decade or gradually over a century? And what about Indigenous people. Did the Blackfoot get here before the Tsuut’ina? Do they speak the same language? Why are the Stoney called Stoney?
I realized that other than the stories we all have heard - the Olympics, The Flames, The Stampede - I don’t know anything about how Calgary came to be, and how we came to be here.
And what does where we’re from tell us about where we’re headed?
So that’s what I want to find out. And that’s what I’m going to spend some time writing about.