Written by Michelle Reid,
Cultural Landscape Lead with Calgary Parks.

My name is Michelle Reid, the Cultural Landscape Lead with Calgary Parks. Before discussing cultural landscapes, I would like to acknowledge that Calgary, and hence Calgary’s parks, are located on the traditional territories of the Treaty 7 Nations. This includes those of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Kiani, Pikani and Siksika Nations,) the Tsuut’ina Nation, the îyârhe Nakoda Nations (Bearspaw, Chiniki and Wesley Nations,) and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3.

Surely at least a few of you are reading this and and wondering, “so what are cultural landscapes?” Cultural landscapes are historically significant landscapes that have become important to different cultures and societies over time.

In Calgary, roughly 25 per cent of our park land has been identified as significant by at least one level of government. Different levels of government have slightly different ways of determining historic significance, but essentially they all derive from universal principals. In Calgary, it is the responsibility of Heritage Calgary to identify resources that are significant at the municipal level. Alberta Culture and Parks Canada also identify places within Calgary that are significant provincially and nationally.

When evaluating cultural landscapes, UNESCO and ICOMOS (International Committee on Monuments and Sites) have developed a definition of cultural landscapes:

Cultural landscapes are the combined works of nature and of man that are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social, economic and cultural forces, both external and internal.

UNESCO continues to further break it down into three to four categories, which are much more helpful when thinking about Calgary’s cultural landscapes.

The first category is defined/designed landscape created intentionally by man. This is the most easily identifiable CL type and includes historic gardens, formal parks, cemeteries, etc. These sites typically display a level of aesthetic achievement or are a representative example of a specific style. In Calgary, our best examples are Central Memorial Park and Reader Rock Garden – both of which are National Historic Sites of Canada.

The second category is the organically evolved landscape. These landscapes result from a specific reason or event and continue to evolve as time passes. ICOMOS breaks this category down into 2 types -the relict landscape and the continually evolving landscape.

A relict landscape is one where the evolutionary process came to an end at some time in the past. In Calgary we see our parks with archaeological resources as falling into the relict type in that the activities represented at these sites no longer occur. The archaeological remains on Paskapoo Slopes, for example, reflect large scale communal hunting using buffalo pounds.  Hearths and boiling pits present at the associated processing sites reflect specific food preparation activities. In other parks stone circle features reflect habitation areas and in some cases potential ceremonial locations.     

Calgary is actually an archaeological hot spot in Alberta. We are very lucky to have such a rich archaeological record in our city.

The continuing landscape is one that retains the historic role in society while still evolving to meet the needs of contemporary society. Bowness Park is a good example. It started as a trolly park and then evolved into a place for camping, for dancing, eventually even carnival rides. But through all of that it still remains the pleasure ground that it is today. The park still centers on water recreation and offers many options for picnics.

Memorial Drive is similar. It started as an official Road of Remembrance but then also became a significant recreational corridor. The Peace Bridge was fairly recently added but the place still retains the trees and the meaning for Calgarians.

The final category is the associative cultural landscape.

These are places that are significant for association with traditional, religious, artistic or cultural practices and activities. These places do not even need to have tangible man-made material to be significant to a culture. Nose Hill is an important example in Calgary. When the Blackfoot Confederacy held their annual conference in Calgary, they erected a landmark on top of Nose Hill as it was an important place within their culture. We know that many landscapes in Calgary are also significant to the Stoney Nakoda Nations, the Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Métis Nation. 

As you can imagine, Calgary has a wide variety of cultural landscapes. But why are they so important? Like all historic places, cultural landscapes help us connect to our past, our city, and to each other. People love these places and have deep connections to them. These are places that tell community stories, family stories, and individual stories. People can share this meaning with others. As time continues, the collective history held by these places becomes richer and richer.

Heritage Calgary has been a wonderful partner to Calgary Parks. Over the past 20 years, we have added numerous cultural landscapes to the Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources. A recent change in Heritage Calgary’s significance categories, which focuses more on Indigenous significance, means that even more cultural landscapes will be recognized and added in the future.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about Calgary’s cultural landscapes. Perhaps it will inspire you to visit and experience them for yourself!