Celebrate the Stampede & Indigenous Culture in Style

It’s officially Stampede season and we’re wrangling in our favourite accessories from Marlborough Mall, so you can show up in style. We’ve teamed up with Sherry @anatakiikowaan to help round up a list of her favourite accessories and share some insight into the Indigenous history surrounding them.

Sherry is currently the Indigenous Engagements and Reconciliation Intern at Glenbow Museum and has partnered with us to share her knowledge and experience with Indigenous culture and the deep roots it has in the Calgary Stampede’s history. From traditional beliefs to fashion styles, read and learn more about these Indigenous influences!

The Indigenous influence of the bolo ties, cowboy hats, boots, and turquoise jewellery

Indigenous Engagements and Reconciliation Intern (Glenbow Museum)

By: Sherry Woods

It has been 110 years since the First Nations, Treaty 7 have camped at the Calgary Stampede. This long history with the First Nations has been an instrumental partnership. The creation of the village was a safe haven for First Nations people to practice their culture. The reason I know so much about my culture is because Stampede encouraged my ancestors to practice their traditions in a time where it was not allowed because of the Indian Act laws and regulations. The Department of Indian Affairs controlled every aspect of Indigenous lives, and our culture was dissolving. A hundred years ago we had to hide our culture to practice it and it wasn’t until Calgary Stampede founder Guy Weddick advocated for First Nations to attend.. Now a hundred years after, because of our ancestors that wanted to preserve our culture and people like Guy Weadick that had an interest, because of those partnerships, today we're developing institutions that we can be proud of our culture. It truly was and continues to be a safe place for my people to practice their traditions and celebrate who we are. 

 
Bolo Ties
Native American bolo ties are made of silver, turquoise, and decorated with stones and have distinctive tribal symbols. They had string or shell-shaped objects to hold their scarves in place. These were originally worn by the Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni people.

 
Turquoise
For some tribes, turquoise represented strength, skill, or even invincibility. The Apaches associated turquoise with rain at the end of the rainbow. They attached pieces to their bows to become precise and invincible hunters and warriors. The stone is particularly important to the Navajo culture, as well as the Zuni and Hopi people. It is a living stone, which is sacred to the Indigenous people. They believe Earth is living and all things are precious. All these colours together represent the hues of the earth, which is one reason it remains so attractive to Indigenous people. Today it is a heavily used stone in many things, such as jewellery and accessories such as purses.

 Cowboy Hats
The cowboy hat we know today evolved from the original Vaqueros, or Mexican cowboys, who wore wide-brimmed, high-crowned sombreros and were originally designed to protect them from being under the hot sun. The cowboy hat was common among the people working in ranches in the western and southern United States, ranchero musicians in Mexico as well as the participants of the rodeo circuit. Early Texan cowboys adopted the style of the Mexican Vaqueros’ sombrero or Spanish poblano in creating the American cowboy hat. In 1865, John B. Stetson designed a new hat style he called “Boss of the Plains” and eventually became much more popular in the west.

Cowboy Boots
Cowboy Boots also had influence from the Vaqueros’ traditions. They originally wore the boots with long shafts to protect themselves both when riding horses and against brush, thorns, and poisonous snakes while walking. American cowboy culture comes considerably from Mexican ranching culture which comes from Spanish ranching culture and so on.

  Like what you see? Strut on down to Marlborough Mall to find your dream outfit for the show! Happy Stampeding!

Products above were sourced from the following retailers at Marlborough Mall:

Fashion Evolution

Boutique of Leathers

Marlborough Mall Shoe Repair