Canadian Indian cowboys in Australia
Subtitle: representation, rodeo, and the RCMP at the Royal Easter Show, 1939
By: Lynda Mannik
Publisher: University of Calgary Press
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Calgary
Language: eng
Number of pages: 196
ISBN-13: 9781552382004
Subjects: Rodeos; Race relations; Government relations; Indians of North America; Discrimination raciale; Indian cowboys; Race discrimination; Cow-boys indiens d'Amérique; Relations avec l'État; Indiens d'Amérique; Royal Easter Show
Description: "The big new thrill at this years Royal Show will be the Chuck Wagon Races, with Red Indians in full war-paint going helter-skelter around the arena, chuck wagons swaying and jostling perilously, horse teams urged with wild whooping into a frenzy of speed. -- newspaper advertisement, Sydney, Australia, March 1939 In 1939, a troupe of eight rodeo riders, accompanied by an RCMP officer, travelled to Sydney, Australia to compete in the Royal Easter Show. The men were expected to compete in various rodeo events, as well as to sell handicrafts at the fair's "Indian village," where they also camped. International competition in rodeo was very rare at the time, and the team proved to be a popular draw for Australian audiences. This little-known moment in Canadian history is explored in Canadian Indian Cowboys in Australia. Author Lynda Mannik uniquely incorporates five different perspectives of the event: that of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales; the Canadian government; the eight First Nations men who participated; the RCMP officer who travelled with the team; and the Australian public. These multiple perspectives offer insight into the constructs of identity and visual representation as they are influenced by intercultural, social, and power relationships."--Pub. desc.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references ( p. 171-186) and index.