Whose mission accomplished?

Alberta at the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival American Review of Canadian Studies, Winter, 2008 by Jennifer L Gauthier http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb009/is_4_38/ai_n31342192/ In the summer of 2006, Alberta became the first ever Canadian province to be featured at the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Festival seeks to celebrate cultural diversity and promote awareness of cultural traditions, but in this case, these goals were overshadowed by the province's commercial goals. With rising gas prices and concerns about reliance on foreign oil, the timing was just right to introduce Alberta and its rich energy supply to Americans. As a Canada-phile who has spent the better part of her academic career studying Canada, I was eager to examine the Alberta program more closely to see how an American institution conceives of a Canadian province. This article seeks to uncover the tensions at play in the representation of Alberta at the 2006 Folklife Festival by analyzing the central preoccupations of the two main institutions involved--the Smithsonian and the government of Alberta. A close analysis of the discourse surrounding this event--specifically, the collection of utterances made by these two institutions and their representatives--reveals that the central discursive preoccupation of the Alberta program was the promotion of the province's oil industry. Moreover, this goal appears to conflict with the anthropological goals of the Folklife Festival. My primary sources, in addition to the Alberta program itself, include the Smithsonian Institution's Festival website and its 2006 program book, as well as the government of Alberta's press releases before, during, and after the Festival, and its Final Mission Report, published at the conclusion of the Festival. Before examining the discourse, I provide some background on the Festival to establish a prediscursive frame for the 2006 Alberta program. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival The Festival began as the Festival of American Folklife in 1967. Thirty-one years later, the name was changed to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to reflect its scope as "an annual exhibition of living cultural heritage from across the United States and around the world." (1) Although its organization has changed over the years, its underlying philosophy has not. Richard Kurin, director of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, which puts on the Festival, states, "The most distinctive feature of the Festival is the attempt to foreground the voices of tradition bearers as they demonstrate, discuss, and present their cultures. At the Festival, tradition bearers, scholars, and Smithsonian curators speak for themselves, with each other, and to the public." (2) The Festival is based on a "living history" model, with each featured nation, region, or program having its own outdoor museum space on the mall. Booths staffed by people from the participating regions are supplemented with stages for musical performances, a food tent, museum-quality signs and text panels, and a glossy program book. According to folklorist Laurie Kay Summers, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival is informed by a philosophy that grew out of the New Deal's conceptions of folklife as a grassroots, bottom-up form of culture. (3) As conceived by founder Ralph Rinzler and folklorist Alan Lomax, the Festival is an attempt to support this form of culture in the face of "growing commercialism and cultural elitism." (4) The two immediate goals of the Festival are: [t]o honor the participants and the cultural groups they represent through display of their traditional arts, skills, and knowledge and thereby encourage their efforts, and to make a broader public aware of the rich variety of cultural traditions, the value of cultural diversity and its continuity, and the obstacles impinging on traditional cultural practice. (5) At its birth in 1967, the festival focused on Texas; three years later it added a Native American program. Every state in the United States has been featured, including the District of Columbia. Since 1982, the Festival has included at least one international section featuring a nation, a culture, or a region. Over 80 nations, 100 American Indian groups, and 60 occupational groups have been feat tired in the Festival since its inception. (6) Every year Smithsonian curators must decide whom to represent at the Folklife Festival and how best to represent them. These decisions are guided by the festival's goals, which, according to Kurin, are the "preservation and transmission of traditional cultural repertoires." (7) Sommers points out that Festival organizers "pay special attention to threatened traditions, based on the belief that the outside approval offered by the Smithsonian could conceivably give a dying tradition a shot in the arm." (8) Not all cultures are deemed equally worthy of being saved, however: Sommers notes that the Festival clearly has its "favored folk." (9) "Folk" culture is often "counterpoised against elite, mass, or official culture as embodying values and social relations that are a necessary, natural and valuable part of human existence, worthy of preservation and encouragement." (10) The festival seeks to shine a light on traditions and cultures that have been ignored; Kurin himself notes that the traditions of the elite and powerful are seldom celebrated at the Festival. (11) Writing and speaking about the Festival, Kurin often foregrounds the role of the Smithsonian in giving voice to people who are not usually represented in order to validate their cultural contributions and educate people about those "who do not appear in the nation's cultural consciousness.'' (12) In determining how best to represent another culture, anthropologists have long been faced with a dilemma, which can be described as the search for a balance between difference and sameness. Writing about ethnography, anthropologist James Clifford notes that "the specific accounts contained in ethnographies can never be limited to a project of scientific

description so long as the guiding task of the work is to make the (often strange) behavior of a different way of life humanly comprehensible." (13) For the Folklife Festival, I would add that the task is also to make the "behavior of a different way of life" entertaining. The "other," while his differences arc to be celebrated, must also be made understandable and approachable, particularly in the case of the Folklife Festival, where we are asked to mingle among and interact with him. The very purpose of the Festival is to encourage us to get to know various "others" and to break down the distance between "us" and "them." However, any portrayal of the ethnographic other is a construction. As professor of performance studies and folklorist Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett notes, "ethnographic objects are made, not found." (14) She suggests that "live exhibits [such as those at the Folklife Festival] tend to make people into artifacts," because the ethnographic gaze is inherently objectifying. (15) Art historian Svetlana Alpers identifies this process as "the museum effect," in which all objects are turned into works of art, isolated from their world, and "offered up for attentive looking." (16) At the Folklife Festival, it is primarily people who are "offered up for attentive looking." As people are made into the object of the gaze, they become spectacles. But because the focus of the Folklife Festival is purportedly on traditional culture, its participants are engaged in activities that they do daily, such as herding cattle, making saddles, or broadcasting a radio program. What is different about their engagement in these activities on the National Mall is the presence of an audience; participants become performers, acting out the fabric of their daily lives for observers. At the heart of exhibiting cultures is a paradox best captured by anthropologist Dean MacGannell's concept of "staged authenticity." Presenting culture within the frame of a booth, a stage, an interpreter, and explanatory texts calls attention to the constructed nature of the encounter. While, as MacCannell observes, tourists may not notice the "aura of superficiality" that surrounds these supposedly authentic encounters, the encounters are in fact fabricated by someone other than the participants. (17) One must not forget the presence of a guiding hand behind the curtain, in the form of a team of curators and a national institution. As museum historians Steven Lavine and Ivan Karp point out, "every museum exhibition, whatever its overt subject matter, inevitably draws on the cultural assumptions of the people who make it. Decisions are made to emphasize one element and to downplay others, to assert some truths and to ignore others." (18) Issues of power and control are never far from the surface, as exhibiting is a "contested terrain" involving competing parties and interests. (19) Featuring Alberta The Festival's Alberta program was indeed a contested terrain, as evidenced by the goals of its dual "guiding hands," the government of Alberta and the Smithsonian Institution. While the Smithsonian's mission of representing marginalized cultures is democratic in its intent, the potential cultural group must meet the following three criteria: substantive grassroots cultural traditions that can be brought to the Mall, enough funds raised to support the program, and permission from those being represented. (20) Alberta met all of these criteria and had even more to recommend it. In March 2005, the province opened an office in the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D. C., with the stated goal of promoting the province's economic and policy interests. (21) Specifically, the office is responsible for building relationships with "high level decision-makers" in the crucial areas of agriculture and energy. (22) In addition, Alberta celebrated its provincial centennial in 2005. The fact that Alberta has "pressing issues with the US" also helped to seal the deal. (23) The United States is Alberta's largest and most important trading partner, topping the list of export markets for both crude oil (61 percent of the total production in 2005) and beef (valued at over $1.1 billion).* (24) Moreover, the Smithsonian already had a working relationship with scholars in Alberta--specifically, with the University of Alberta, through the Folkways Alive! Program. (25) Perhaps most important, as one of Canada's wealthiest provinces, Alberta could raise the money needed to participate in the Festival. Smithsonian curator Nancy Groce served as the ''program curator" for the Alberta program in partnership with Canadian Al Chapman, whose specialty is Alberta's music. They were assisted by an advisory committee made up of Canadian educators, museum professionals, journalists, and arts supporters. (26) The cost of the program (around US$2 million) was shared by the government of Alberta and the Smithsonian. (27) Main sponsors for the program included the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the provincial ministries of Community Development and International and Intergovernmental Relations, as well as the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, and ConocoPhillips, Enbridge Corporation, EnCana Corporation, and Suncor Energy Inc. (all major energy companies in Canada). (28) It is not surprising that the energy sector played a large role in financing the Alberta program, given that this industry is a crucial part of Alberta's economy. Alberta was the fastest-growing province between 2001 and 2006, with a 2006 population of 3,290,350. Statistics Canada links this population boom to the province's flourishing economy, "bolstered in particular by the strength of the oil industry" (29) Crude oil is Alberta's top export commodity, valued at over $31 billion in 2006. Natural gas is second at over $23 billion.' (30) The energy sector accounts for a quarter of Alberta's gross domestic product. (31) As important as the oil and gas industry is to the province's economy, it is perhaps even more important to its provincial identity. An ongoing source of tension with the Canadian federal government, the energy sector has come to represent Alberta's "alienation" from the nation of Canada and its resulting desire to establish independent diplomatic ties. (32) Its program at the Folklife Festival was no doubt rooted in this desire. According to Kurin, the Alberta program was bigger than most, featuring 150 participants (between 120 and 140 is the norm) and a larger space on the Mall than any other program. (33) The extensive site plan included large exhibition areas for an oil sands display (featuring a giant Caterpillar truck), a ranching demonstration with an exhibition ring and two

animal paddocks, and two big music stages. The most technology-heavy program in Festival history, the Alberta section also necessitated more electrical support than others; Kurin notes that the displays were "the most sophisticated to date." (34) In addition to the oil sands and ranching displays, tents showcased other aspects of Alberta's culture, including agriculture, architecture and urban planning, cold weather adaptation, Western crafts (saddlemaking, silversmithing, and beadwork), the clay industries, radio, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), paleontology, technological innovations, hockey, the wilderness, Theatresports (improvisational comedy competitions), forestry, oral history and foodways. Performances by a number of musical groups, dance troupes, and storytellers ran throughout the Festival on two large stages and one small stage. A cafe with Alberta-themed foods complemented the program (featuring a bison burger; a pita salad with Prairie greens and Alberta honey; buckwheat bread; corn on the cob; a cheesecake cookie made with oat, flax, and fieldberries, a specialty of the town of Calmar; Molson Canadian beer; and fieldberry seltzer). Discourse Analysis and Framing My method draws together two strands of textual analysis that have been used by scholars to investigate how meaning is constructed through language. Michel Foucault argues that knowledge about any given subject is created in and through discourse. (35) This discursive construction of meaning depends upon several factors, including what is said, how it is said, and who says it, as well as from what institutional sites the statements issue; what is not said and who is left out of the discussion also factor in. These multiple contributions to the discourse, or utterances, work to frame a particular topic in a certain way, imposing meaning on the experience or information. Beginning with anthropologist Gregory Bateson, scholars from varied fields have used the idea of framing to talk about how humans make sense of their world. (36) Most notably, sociologist Erving Goffman proposed that humans create frameworks, or "schemata of interpretation," to give meaning to events and experiences that would otherwise be meaningless. (37) Robert Entman, a professor of media and public affairs, has taken the disparate theoretical strands related to framing and applied them to the study of the news. He describes framing as the process of selection and salience, or "making a piece of information more noticeable, meaningful, or memorable to audiences." (38) Entman argues that "frames exert their power through the selective description and omission of the features of a situation." (39) This power to construct meaning is wielded through the ''presence or absence of certain key words, stock phrases, stereotyped images, sources of information and sentences that provide thematically reinforcing clusters of facts or judgments." (40) Discourse creates knowledge; framing is the way that knowledge is shaped or communicated to the listener. Certain ideas are brought to the foreground while others recede into the background. In what follows, I trace the discursive construction of Alberta through its representation in the 2006 Folklife Festival. A close examination of the utterances will show that certain attributes of the province are highlighted, while others are ignored or forgotten. Ultimately, Alberta was framed as a technologically sophisticated, cosmopolitan source of ''friendly" oil in the summer of 2006, when the oil crisis was on everyone's mind. (41) Alberta as Presented by the Smithsonian Institution In choosing to highlight the province at its world-renowned annual event, the Smithsonian bestowed upon Alberta a measure of legitimacy; Alberta was constructed as a "museum-worthy" entity (and not just any museum, the Smithsonian Institution, that bastion of American cultural preservation). However, as I noted above, the choice of cultures upon which to focus may ultimately have less to do with anthropology and more to do with economics. Moreover, it is clear that the provincial government and its representatives in Washington, not to mention Alberta's wealthy energy sector, had a great deal of influence on the program. Working with Al Chapman, the representative of Alberta, Smithsonian curator Nancy Groce and her team created the site plan and layout for the program. The arrangement of the Alberta program reflected a conflicted set of priorities. Because it is an open-air event, visitors could enter from various points. However, the official welcoming banners were placed on the grass at either end of the mall--the ends closest to the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Entering from the Capitol side, one encountered (he displays in this order: oil sands/energy, ranching, and forestry/sustainable resources. Scattered in between these tents were several larger performance tents, the "Taste of Alberta" food tent, and a picnic area. In a fenced area closer to the Natural History Museum, several smaller tents were arranged to provide a glimpse of "The People of Alberta" and their pastimes. The displays in this area included technological innovations, the grain academy, the RCMP, the Chinook Stage, beadwork. a cooking demonstration, the clay industries, wilderness, hockey, leatherwork and silversmithing, paleontology, radio, and animal skins. In this section, a standing information board described "Urban Alberta," noting specifically that "most Albertans do not live on farms or ranches [;] ... four out of five Albertans are urbanites." Despite this emphasis on urbanity, the booths did not specifically represent city life, except for those dealing with architecture and urban planning The text seemed a pointed attempt to dispel the stereotypes about Alberta as a frontier region peopled with cowboys and to highlight the cosmopolitan character of the province. The oil sands display and the ranching paddocks look up the most space on the Mall, and certainly provided the most spectacular sights to visitors. It was impossible to ignore the 17-foot-tall and 32-foot-long bright yellow Caterpillar truck (with 12-foot tires) or rancher Dylan Biggs's collection of cattle and sheep. These two displays provided an interesting contrast Lo each other--one highlighting the big business of energy and the other celebrating the individual who still manages to eke out a living on the land. Perhaps this is the real story of Alberta: the tension between industrial

development and preservation of the province's natural resources. However, the Smithsonian did not foreground this conflict in its textual or publicity materials. Moreover, aside from a small wilderness booth, the Alberta program did not celebrate Alberta's natural resources except as raw material for industry. This is interesting in light of responses to an informal survey I took of fifty visitors to the Festival, who when asked what they knew about Alberta before visiting the Mall responded most frequently with references to the natural resources (the Rocky Mountains, camping, National Parks, mountain ranges, wildlife, Banff and Jasper). Alberta clearly wrestles with the competing demands of industry and environmental protection, as evidenced by the government's website, which describes the province's forests as supporting the third-largest industry and providing opportunities for hunting, wildlife viewing, and recreation. (42) As visitors moved on to the additional booths, it became clear how Alberta was to be framed. Echoing the province's website, the program featured a booth linking forestry and sustainable resources. The display was lackluster; its only decor was a mannequin outfitted in firelighting gear. Neither display panels nor printed texts made mention of the environmental effects of industrial development on the natural world. Once again, the tensions that characterize Alberta's culture and economy were buried in the Smithsonian's presentation. In contrast to the low-key quality of the forestry/sustainable resources booth were the technology booths. Mixed in with the displays of more traditional elements of Alberta's cultural heritage, such as cooking, crafts, and the RCMP (the members of this storied Canadian institution originally patrolled the land that is now Alberta and Saskatchewan), the technology displays captured the attention of visitors due to their sheer number and flashy appearance. These included the SuperNet, a high-speed internet connection that links schools, hospitals, libraries, and government sites across Alberta; radio broadcasting; the Light up the World Foundation, a project affiliated with the University of Calgary that is devoted to bringing affordable and efficient lighting to people around the world; green architecture; and artificial intelligence robotic dogs, an initiative developed at the University of Alberta. The purpose of each booth, taken individually, was confusing to visitors, as I discovered in my informal survey; as a whole, however, the booths sent a clear message about Alberta as the home of innovative research and development. A booth showcasing Alberta's clay industries was notably called "clay industries'" as opposed to "pottery." As that nomenclature suggests. Alberta's technological achievements tended to overshadow the less spectacular aspects of the province's culture, constructing Alberta as a mecca for industry and innovation. As Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett notes, festivals embrace the "primacy of spectacle," calling attention to the "tension between the very unspectacular nature of much material that we might want to present and the expectation of audiences that they will get a good show." (43) For example, visitors to the Alberta program were more apt to spend time interacting with the robotic dogs than watching Eli Snow, a Nakoda beadworker, at his craft. This discursive construction was aided by the Smithsonian's publicity output to advertise and market the Folklife Festival. A master of press management, the Smithsonian has a well-oiled publicity machine for the Festival and all of its ancillary programs. In addition to a sophisticated website and strategically placed advertisements, each Folklife Festival is accompanied by a thick, glossy program book. The Smithsonian's Festival website sets up expectations for visitors and introduces a preliminary frame for the audience's understanding of the featured cultures. The website for the 40th Folklife Festival--the one under discussion here included links for each of the four featured programs: Alberta, Native basket traditions, a New Orleans concert series, and Nuestra Musica (music from Latino Chicago). The Alberta section was listed first (since it was the largest, but also alphabetically first), and the link was accompanied by a photo of one of Alberta's glacial lakes surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. This was the only wilderness image associated with the province on the Smithsonian's website; the Alberta page itself featured images of urban settings. Topping the page was a photo of the chuckwagon race at the Calgary Stampede, next was an image of an outdoor concert in Edmonton, and finally a photo of the famous Calgary city skyline. The text of the webpage promoted Alberta's wealth ("the fastest-growing economy in Canada") and its diverse population ("whose 'can-do' spirit has transformed a frontier territory into a prosperous province with a vibrant cultural landscape"). (44) The website introduced Alberta as a diverse, cosmopolitan place. This portrait of the province was echoed in the Festival's program book. Containing over 150 pages of text and black-andwhite photos, the book features a section on each program at the 2006 Festival as well as introductory text by Smithsonian curators. In his introduction, "The Festival as a Cultural Partnership," Lawrence Small, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, highlights Alberta's diverse peoples, dramatic landscape, modern metropolises, and world-class industries. (45) In their overview essay about Alberta, co-curators Al Chapman and Nancy Groce provide background and history on the province and highlight each aspect of culture that is featured in the Festival. The initial focus is on the people and their "can-do spirit." The essay begins by addressing some common misconceptions about Alberta, an acknowledgment that most visitors to the Festival come with stereotypes and preconceived notions about Canada. First, the authors note that Alberta is not always covered in snow: the province experiences all four seasons, and "sunshine is the norm." (46) Next, they explain that not all Albertans live on farms or ranches, but that actually four out of five Albertans live in cities; Calgary and Edmonton arc lauded as "corporate and cultural centers with impressive skylines, lively cultural scenes, sophisticated restaurants and shops and world-class universities." (47) Finally, Chapman and Groce debunk the mistaken idea (linked to

the previous misconception) that all Albertans are cowboys: "A contemporary Albertan is more likely to work in a corporate office or retail store, be involved in the energy sector, or be employed by one of the province's many high-tech research centers than to work with cattle." (48) Following this statement are six paragraphs on Alberta's demographic composition, beginning with the presence of various First Nations tribes (Blackfoot, Blood, Piegan, Cree, and Dene) and Metis ("descendants of French and Scottish traders and Cree, Ojibwa, Salteaux and Assiniboine women"). (49) Chapman and Groce also make note of the immigrants who came for land and work. In closing this section, the authors highlight the fact that Alberta's "energy sector, universities, high-tech laboratories and booming economy" have attracted people from all over the world. (50) This introduction makes an effort to educate the Festival-going public about Alberta, but, perhaps more notably, it is a deliberate attempt to reframe impressions of Alberta as the vast, empty land of the West peopled only by cowboys riding the range. Foregrounding the sophistication of the cities, their cultural attractions, their educational institutions, and their technology companies makes a statement that Alberta is a world-class cosmopolitan destination. The discursive construction of Alberta as the site of technological innovation and rapid industrial development is difficult to ignore. Moreover, the largest amount of space in the Alberta section of the program book is devoted to the energy sector. That section is divided into three sub-sections: conventional drilling, oil sands, and pipelines. In the summer of 2006, it was vitally important for Alberta to showcase its capabilities as an energy supplier to the United States. The provincial government's goals of increased trade and investment opportunities (as seen in their communiques, below) resonate with the program book's focus on this economically important sector. The text notes that Alberta supplies 10 percent of U.S. imported oil. (51) So as not to take the focus away from the anthropological aspects of Alberta, the authors suggest that the energy sector is made up of several distinct segments, "each with its own occupational folklore, history, traditions and stories." (52) Despite this reference to the ethnography of work, achieving a balance between anthropology and industrial promotion historically has been difficult for the Folklife Festival. (53) Spotlighting technology and industry in Alberta was a strategic move on the part of program curators, meant to work in several different ways. First is the promotion, in the program book, of the "can-do" spirit, an oft-repeated phrase in the Smithsonian's description of Alberta. According to the program book, "If we don't have it, we'll build it" is a phrase heard frequently in the province, a remnant of the pioneer days. (54) Albertans are described as problem-solvers and innovators, particularly with regard to the research and development work being done at '"major universities, private laboratories and government-sponsored 'centers of excellence.'" (55) Framing Alberta as the home of technological innovation serves to link the past to the future and to project an image of the province as a modern and forward-thinking place. In the province's early history, its settlers were confronted with many challenges, which they successfully met and overcame. They developed solutions to the problems of the frontier, such as isolation, feeding their families, surviving the harsh winters, and building towns. Highlighting the "can-do spirit" recalls this history and the efforts of the pioneers. Links to the past were also celebrated in the program's focus on radio and paleontology, though perhaps not obviously. That focus is reflected in the program book as well. Showcasing the development of radio stations in the province, Chapman and Groce offer further evidence of Albertans' pioneering "can-do" spirit. According to the authors, "In an area as vast as Alberta, bridging distances has been essential to creating a sense of community." (56) The geographical realities of the province were surmounted by human innovation in creating a network of radio stations; CKUA in Edmonton was the nation's first public broadcaster and still champions the music, and culture of Alberta. (57) Representatives from Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Royal Tyrrell Museum, an internationally renowned paleontology center, attended the Festival to showcase Alberta's heavy concentration of fossils left by dinosaurs who lived in this region during the Mesozoic era. The program book notes that "Alberta is one of the world's leading sites for research in paleontology, and dinosaurs arc even considered a local mascot." (58) The choice to include this feature of Alberta's culture is perhaps more in line with the educational and ethnographic goals of the Folklife Festival, thus balancing out the focus on industry. In his supporting essay, Max Foran, a professor at the University of Calgary. picks up on many of the same themes. He notes the competing influences on the province's culture in the form of strong centralized federal institutions, American populism, and attachment to the mother country, Britain. (59) What unites the people of Alberta, though, is "an enduring commitment to progress amid social orthodoxy [that] is complemented by world-class heritage sites and a proliferation of festivals that celebrate both past achievements and diversity." (60) Like Chapman and Groce, Foran highlights the connections between past, present, and future and the "commitment to progress." In his closing paragraph, however, Foran hints at some of the challenges that come with progress and a prosperous economy: Alberta is at a crossroads. As its economy grows by leaps and bounds, so do the challenges and opportunities created by affluence. As waves of newcomers continue to arrive, Alberta's historic, unswerving adherence to individualism and free enterprise may become increasingly contestable. For the present, Albert is a beckoning promised land. Those seeking growth and prosperity will find a palpable energy in its urban places, on the drilling rigs, and in the mines and forests where the tasks of tapping resources never cease. (61)

With this comment, Foran captures some of the tensions lurking beneath the surface of the Alberta program. As a Canadian, and someone unaffiliated with the Festival, he is able to reflect objectively on Alberta's unbridled industrial development and its attendant problems. His comments allude to the difficult issues that the Smithsonian Institution and the government of Alberta were reluctant to address in the program, despite Alberta's history as the birthplace of Canada's oppositional social movements and political parties. Foran's caveat aside, the Smithsonian program book frames Alberta as a place that celebrates progress and technology, revels in its financial prosperity, and wholeheartedly supports industry. The contested nature of this discourse is submerged; only passing mention is made of the effects of the energy sector on the environment. While the authors note that oil sands are located primarily under state-owned Crown lands, "largely undeveloped wilderness areas," the sacrifice of these areas is taken for granted. Moreover, the expense and effort to restore them is glossed over: 'After the bitumen from the oil sands has been 'recovered' and the cleaned sands retuned to the excavation site, reclamation specialists take over. It is their job to return the mined area to a healthy boreal forest." (62) These comments seem ironic in light of the authors' claim that "the responsibility of being stewards of some of North America's most pristine and extensive wilderness areas is one that Albertans take seriously. Protection, management, and sustain ability of resources in wilderness areas generate considerable public debate and arc the focus of extensive government policies." (63) Serious ethical issues are at play, here, simmering just below the surface of the Smithsonian's glossy presentation of Alberta. Why are the environmental effects of the retrieval of oil sands ignored? What about the issues of Nativeland rights? How can Canada keep its commitments to the Kyoto Protocol while simultaneously increasing greenhouse gas emissions? (64) In their wholehearted embrace of technology and progress, the curators of the Alberta program opted to frame the province as more similar to the United States than different from it--that is, as a culture that, for the most part, uncritically celebrates capitalism and industry. In the process of this discursive construction, the curators ignored a rich tradition of social criticism and resistance. Since before the province was founded, Albertans have fought against the consolidation of power. The land that would become the province in 1905 was claimed by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1670, but local companies fought the HBC for control over the territory's natural resources. University of Calgary professor and writer George Melnyk calls them "free traders" working against the IIBC monopoly. (65) Early Metis descendants of the European fur traders led the resistance against colonial expansion in 1870 and 1885. (66) These battles planted the seeds of regionalism and political radicalism. (67) As Melnyk argues, the province has a history not only of discontent and alienation, but more importantly of productive social criticism. This maverick spirit was celebrated in Alberta writer Aritha van Herk's 2001 book, Mavericks: An Incorrigible History of Alberta (and the museum exhibition upon which it was based). (68) Albertans' "can-do" attitude, frequently mentioned in the discourse of the Alberta program, is perhaps more likely to result in ideas that go against the mainstream than in ideas that support the status quo. Moreover, in its uncritical celebration of technology, the Smithsonian passed up an opportunity to show the world some of what makes Canada different from the United States--specifically, its unique perspective on technology and progress as seen in the work of Harold Innis, George Grant, and Marshall McLuhan. These conflicting utterances were elided in the discourse of Alberta at the Smithsonian. "Alberta at the Smithsonian" as Seen by the Provincial Government of Alberta The provincial government of Alberta was a major force in bringing about Alberta's participation in the Folklife Festival. More specifically, the Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations and the Ministry of Community Development led the charge to organize the program. The province's goals in this endeavor stood in stark contrast to the goals of the Smithsonian Institution, and this tension is evident in the many official communiques issued before, during, and after the Festival. In November of 2005, the provincial government, through the Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations, published a promotional advertisement announcing Alberta's participation in the Festival and seeking sponsors. The flier highlighted the more than one million visitors who would attend the Festival and its location on the National Mall. It announced that the Festival would be focused on the diversity of Alberta's people, culture, and traditions. The prestige of the Festival was a main theme in the advertisement, with supporting statements calling attention to the fact of its fortieth anniversary, referring to it as the "top event in the U.S." and noting that it had won Academy, Emmy, and Grammy awards. (69) The provincial government framed Alberta's participation in the Festival as an opportunity to gain national and international media coverage equal to a projected $8-12 million "of positive exposure," stimulate economic opportunities, and expand cultural exchange opportunities. (70) The flier noted that the cost of the program would be $3.8 million, with the Smithsonian and the government of Alberta covering most of the costs. It also called for private partners and outlined the benefits of sponsorship, including "association with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Mall of the United States, opportunities to interact with key decision-makers, potential business opportunities, VIP participation in Festival events and use of Smithsonian facilities." (71) Clearly, the provincial government was using the prestige of the Smithsonian and the opportunity for business leaders to connect with powerful Americans as selling points. To support its activities in Washington, the provincial government launched a website, www.albertaindc.com. (72) The website offered general information about Alberta, information about the Festival, and a media center that contained archived press releases about the Festival. Included in the Festival section were online diaries by seven Alberta participants reflecting on their experiences in Washington. (73) Eight newspaper stories about Alberta's participation in the Festival and twenty-seven video clips from footage taken at the Festival were also posted on the site.

Generally speaking, press releases are designed to interest the media in covering a story; they announce a supposedly newsworthy event that will reflect positively on the issuing organization. It is no surprise, then, that the provincial government's press releases about the Festival framed Alberta's participation as both historic and important. Five of the eleven press releases posted on the website date from before the Festival itself; the first was issued in March of 2005. This initial release hinted at the potentially divergent goals of Alberta and the Smithsonian. Premier Ralph Klein's remarks stressed the promotional nature of the Festival: "The festival is a wonderful opportunity for us to feature our performing arts, cuisine, aboriginal culture, and technology. We will also be able to promote Alberta as a tourist destination and provide information to an American audience on issues important to Albertans, such as agriculture, forestry, and our energy reserves." (74) In contrast, Richard Kurin, director of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, focused on the ethnographic intent of the program: We are proud to work with Alberta in showcasing its rich and diverse living cultural heritage. Given our partnership with the University of Alberta and the fine institutions in the province we are confident the festival program will be outstanding. We expect visitors to learn much from Albertans directly about the occupational and ethnic traditions which have animated Alberta's history and define its contemporary identity. (75) In its first press release, the government also set up several main themes that would continue throughout all of its communications: the fact that over one million people were expected to visit the Festival, the large size of the exhibition (two football fields), the promotional opportunities offered by the Festival, and money issues. The cost of Alberta's participation in the Festival was revealed to its citizens slowly, over time. The March 2005 release stated that costs had yet to be determined. (76) In June 2005, Gary Mar, the province's community development minister, made a trip to Washington at the cost of $8,000, a sum that was named on the website. (77) Ten months later, the full cost of mounting the Festival was revealed--$3.8 million--but the government assured the public that the Smithsonian was going to contribute and sponsorships were being sought. Moreover, it was noted that, the Festival would leave a lasting legacy for education and culture in the province. (78) One wonders if the title of this press release, ''Alberta Energizes U.S. Capital," is supposed to be ironic, or is a subtle indication of Alberta's underlying goals. Just before the Festival opened, a release announced that in addition to the $3.8 million for the Alberta program, the cost of sending an Alberta delegation (Premier Klein and 10 ministers) to Washington would be $147,600. This communique, entitled "Alberta Week to Strengthen Relations,'' noted that, in return for its support of programs both on and off the Mall, Alberta would receive the equivalent of $12 million in publicity and "a long-term benefit in increased tourism and investment in Alberta ventures." (79) In each of these releases, Alberta's participation in the festival was framed as a good investment for the long term. The press releases all quoted government officials endorsing the Festival as an opportunity to promote the province as a tourist destination and a trading partner. In these communiques, Alberta officials seemed giddy with excitement at the thought of the "face time" they would receive with Washington's policy-and decision-makers. The bureaucrats stressed the benefit to all Albertans and the "honor" of being chosen to participate in the Folklife Festival; (80) One release that departed from this trend focused on the SuperNet, which would allow Festival visitors to communicate with Albertan schoolchildren. The release noted that 'Alberta is recognized internationally as a leader in the development of innovative practices in learning and technology. The province is also recognized for the quality of its kindergarten to Grade 12 education system and its students' achievement." (81) It is clear that, in the lead-up to the Festival, the focus was on the promotion of Alberta and the benefits that would result from the province's participation. The provincial government was somewhat tight-lipped about the high cost of attending the Festival, and positive comments from government officials were designed to offset any concerns about the large financial investment. Similar themes pervaded the press releases issued during the Festival. But these, in addition, tended to focus on the 150 Albertan participants and the specific events happening at the Festival. Two releases highlighted cultural legacies that would result from Alberta's participation in the Festival. Another release focused on a partnership among the Smithsonian, the University of Alberta, and the provincial government to create internships for ten students a year for the next five years at Smithsonian Centers throughout the world (at a cost of $300,000). Richard Kurin called it a "legacy of the cooperation between the Province of Alberta and the Smithsonian Institution in celebrating Alberta's participation in the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival." (82) Still another announced the donation of a painting by Alberta artist Joane CardinalSchubert, called "Medicine Wheel--Nebula Dream--Glass Bottom Boat," to the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. In that release, Premier Klein highlighted the importance of artists in the province's identity and the "new relationship with one of the world's most prestigious institutions." (83) The latter two communiques highlighted the cultural mission of the Festival, as if to offset the pervasive industrial focus. In conjunction with Alberta's program at the Folklife Festival, the provincial government sponsored Alberta Week in Washington (June 26-July 1). As outlined in the province's Final Mission Report, the objectives of this undertaking were to "build on Alberta's presence in Washington, DC during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival to present the friendly and reliable face of Canada"; to "deliver and reinforce messages on Alberta's integral role in the North American economy to key U. S. decision makers during Alberta Week in Washington and the Alberta exhibit at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival June 29-July 11)"; to "expand the consequence and impact of Alberta's contact with key U.S. decision-makers": and to "build

Alberta's relationship with the prestigious Smithsonian Institution and its 19 museums." (84) To accomplish these goals, the week featured an information and communication technology forum, an energy forum, and an agriculture forum, as well as receptions sponsored by the city of Edmonton and the city of Calgary, a panel on U.S.-Canada relations, a Canada Day Pancake Breakfast highlighting the Calgary Stampede, a congressional reception, and a luncheon with the U.S. State Department. Other activities occurring throughout 2006 included an Alberta art display, a concert at the Kennedy Center, an Albertathemed lecture series, and Alberta plays featured in the Capital Fringe Festival. Moreover, the provincial government formulated a "Legacy Plan" of items to extend beyond 2006 in promoting Alberta in the United States. These include the earlier-cited internship program and painting, as well as a Smithsonian-produced recording of Alberta performers, a traveling exhibit of Alberta arts, and the incorporation of new content in Alberta elementary education programs. The economic impact of these programs is spelled out clearly in the province's November 2005 communique: Alberta is projected to receive the equivalent of $9-14 million (CAD) or $8-12 million (USD) worth of media coverage reaching 50 million people. (85) Sponsors of Alberta Week in Washington included the city of Calgary and the city of Edmonton (which, as noted earlier, sponsored receptions), the Athabasca Regional Issues Working Group, as well as major corporate partners from the energy sector, including Enbridge, EnCana, Suncor, ConocoPhillips, and PetroCanada. The Alberta Beef Producers, City Lumber, Canola Info, Molson, and the Finning Caterpillar distributor were also sponsors. Alberta Week was clearly an effort to frame the province as first and foremost a valuable partner for U.S. businesses, and secondarily as a desirable tourist destination. These events off the Mall were clearly intended to augment the message being sent by the nearly simultaneous Alberta program at the Folklife Festival. The Final Mission Report sums up the province's work in Washington. It frames Alberta's participation in the Folklife Festival as a successful effort to market the province on several levels. As evidence for the program's success, the report states, "Premier Ralph Klein, Cabinet ministers and MLAs met with key U.S. government and business leaders including" Senators, chairs of U.S. Congressional committees and the Vice President. ... Alberta at the Smithsonian helped build positive Alberta-U.S. relations," and Alberta ''showcased its culture, economy and work life to close to 1 million Americans and visitors." (86) Moreover, "presentations on North American energy and Canada-U.S. relations attracted the attention of major media outlets in both countries." (87) The report notes that, according to Smithsonian officials, Alberta would have had to spend $12 million to buy the equivalent media coverage in the United States. (88) Overall, the report suites, "The outcome of Alberta at the Smithsonian is a promise of continuing benefit, new depth to our partnership and new opportunities on many different levels." (89) The Final Mission Report highlights the provincial government's diplomatic and political-industrial goals for Alberta's participation in the Festival. This frame is in line with the province's press releases, as well as the statements made by provincial officials to the Canadian press. In contrast to the anthropological goals of the Smithsonian Institution, Alberta-although paying lip service to cultural heritage--appears to have been most interested in educating Americans about the province's rich store of natural resources and its availability as a trade partner. Conclusion The discourse surrounding Alberta's program at the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival reveals the existence of numerous tensions and conflicts. The divergent goals of provincial promotion and ethnographic representation are evident in statements made by Alberta officials and Smithsonian curators. With the program's focus on commerce--specifically, the oil industry--Alberta's cultural traditions receded into the background, despite the presence of crafters and performers. As a result, the Festival's commitment to activism and the preservation of dying traditions seemed to be missing. So what knowledge about Alberta did visitors take away from the program? During each Festival, the Smithsonian surveys visitors about their experiences. The results of this survey were reported in a press release on www.albertaindc.com as evidence of the increased awareness of the province: 77 percent of visitors said they had known little or nothing about Alberta prior to the festival, 73 percent said they knew something or a lot after visiting the Alberta displays, 86 percent answered yes or maybe when asked whether they plan to visit Alberta in the future, 97 percent described their experience at the Festival as good, excellent, or superior, and 58 percent rated Alberta's program as the best at the Folklife Festival. (90) While these numbers reflect only the Festival-going public's opinions of Alberta, additional evidence suggests an even broader impact. As described above, the Final Mission Report concluded that the Alberta program was a success based on the widespread media coverage that the province received. (91) Anthropological considerations, such as what cultural elements were featured and how they were presented, receded into the background. Framing the Alberta program as a self-serving public relations effort, provincial officials reported the mission accomplished. Notes (1.) Richard Kurin. Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Culture of by and for the People (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1998), 6. (2.) Kurin, Smithsonian Folklife Festival. 10. (3.) Laurie Kay Sommers, "Definitions of 'Folk' and 'Lore' in the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife," Journal of Folklore Research 33, no. 3 (1996): 227 231.

(4.) Sommers, "Definitions of 'Folk' and 'Lore,'" 203. This idea is rooted in the "salvage paradigm," a much-debated notion in the field of anthropology which argues that the "vanishing primitive" must be rescued from his imminent demise and redeemed for eternity. See James Clifford, "On Ethnographic Allegory,'' in Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, ed. James Clifford and George E. Marcus (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986). (5.) Office of Folklife Programs, "Guidelines for the Research and Development of Folklife Pro grams: What We Stand For." in 1988 Festival of American Folklife Program (Washington. D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1988). (6.) See the website of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, "Festival Pro grams by Year," http://www.folklife.si.edu/center/festival_progbyyear.html. (7.) Richard Kurin, "Why We Do the Festival," in Program Book of the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, ed. Thomas Vennum, Jr. (Washington, D.C.: American Folklife Center, 1989), 10. (8.) Sommers, "Definitions of 'Folk' and 'Lore,"' 229. (9.) Sommers, "Definitions of 'Folk' and ' Lore,"' 230. Native American peoples have been the focus of the most programs at the Folklife Festival; between 1970 and 1978 each Festival had a Native American program. Since then, various aspects of Native American culture, such as architecture, land use, women and music, and basket-making have been featured, Other "favored folk" include African-American peoples, with three festivals featuring sections on the African Dispora (1974-1976), Black Urban Culture from Philadelphia (1984), and African Immigrant Folklore (1997). (10.) Richard and Patricia Swain, "The Politics of Participation in Folklife Festivals," in Exhibiting Cultures: The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display, ed. Ivan Karp and Steven D. Lavine (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991), 289. (11.) Richard Kurin, "response to McCarl," The American Folklore Society Newsletter 21, no. 1 (1992): 11-12. (12.) Kurin, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 54. See also Kurin, "Cultural Conservation through Representation: Festival of India Folklife Exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution," in Karp and Lavine, Exhibiting Cultures, 315-343. In the essay, Kurin highlights the 1985 program, Mela! An Indian Fair, which featured folk artists and street performers who are outcastes in India. As he describes it, the performers gained widespread respect and experienced a king of "states inversion and leveling" such that the Festival took on the overtones of a "political act." After the Festival, actual changes seemed to be forthcoming in India, including recognition of the artisans' work. (13.) Clifford, "On Ethnographic Allegory," 101. (14.) Barbara Krishenblatt-Gimblett, Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage (Berkeley; University of California Press, 1998), 3. (15.) Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Destination Culture, 55. (16.) Svetlana Alpers, "The Museum as a Way of Seeing," in Karp and Lavine, Exhibiting Cultures, 26. (17.) Dean MacCannel, The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class (New York: Shocken Books, 1976), 98. (18.) Stephen D. Lavine and Ivan Karp, "Introduction," in Karp and Lavine, Exhibiting Cultures, 1. (19.) Lavine and karp, "Introduction," 2. (20.) Riochard Kurin, Smithsonian Folklife Festival 66. (21.) From its opening in 2005 through 2007, this office was headed by Murray Smith, former minister of energy in the Alberta government. He was replaced in 2007 by Gary Mar. For more information visit http://www.international.alberta.ca/553.cfm.</P< a>> (22.) Alberta Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations, "Alberta Washington Office," http://www.irr.gov.ab.ca/international_relations/alberta_washington_office.asp (accessed June 21, 2007). (23.) Richard Kurin, email to the author, July 19, 2006. (24.) See http://www.energy.alberta.ca/Org/pdfs/Alberta_Energy_overview.pdf and http://wwwl.agric.gov.ab.ca/ $department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sdd11823/SFILE/table4.pdf. (25.) Kurin, email to the author, July 19, 2006. Folkways Alive! is a partnership between the University of Alberta and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian. Based at the University of Alberta's Canadian Center for Ethnomusicology, the program is dedicated to digitizing archival music and sponsoring research, performance, and recordings. For more information visit the Folkways Alive! website at http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/home/about-us.</P< a>> (26.) "Staff," Smithsonian Folklife Festival Program Book (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2006), 98. (27.) Kurin, email to the author, July 19, 2006, and AI Chapman, email to the author, September 1, 2006. (28.) "Sponsors and Special Thanks," Smithsonian Folklife Festival Program Book (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2006), 100-103.

(29.) See the Statistics Canada website, http://www12.statca.ca/English/census06/analysis/popdwell/ProvTerr5.cfm.</P< a>> (30.) See "Alberta Facts 2007," http://www.finance.alberta.ca/aboutalberta/alberta_facts_brochure.pdf.</P< a>> (31.) See Alberta's website, http://www.alberta.ca/home/181.cfm.</P< a>> (32.) Alberta, even more than the other western provinces, has a history of sour relations with Ottawa based on the federal government's policies regarding ownership of natural resources. The resentment came to a head during the National Energy Program of the 1980s, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau sought to redistribute the province's wealth by taxing oil exports. Albertans regarded this levy as unfair, since Section 109 of the Constitution Act of 1867 states that provinces legally control and can levy royalties on their own natural resources. In 1982 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the federal government could not collect taxes on provincial resources, but by then the damage to the province had been done. When taxes were levied in 1980, international firms doing business in Alberta pulled out and left massive unemployment and a failed real estate market. For more information see the CBC website: http://archives.radio-canada.ca/300.asp?id=1-73-378. Rumblings about secession are still heard in the province, but no one takes them seriously. (33.) Kurin, email to the author, July 19, 2006. (34.) Kurin, email to the author, July 19, 2006. (35.) Michel Founcault, The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language, trans. A M. Sheridan-Smith (New York: Pantheon Books, 1972). (36.) Gregory Bateson, "A Theory of Play and Fantasy," in Steps to an Ecology of Mind (New York: Ballantine Books, 1972). (37.) Erving Goffman, Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1974). (38.) Robert Entman, "Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm," Journal of Communication 43, no. 4 (Autumn 1993): 52. (39.) Entman, "Framing," 54. (40.) Entman, "Framing," 52. (41.) See http://www.energybulletin.net/node/24350 for information about the spike in the price of oil between December 2005 and the summer of' 2006. (42.) The website for the province of Alberta and its "Industry and Economy" page ran be found at http://www.alberLa.ea/home/181cfm.</P< a>> (43.) Barbara kirshenblatt-Gimblett, "Objects of Ethnography." in Karp and Lavine. Exhibiting Cultures. 428. (44.) For more information visit the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife festival website at http://www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2006/index.html.</P< a>> (45.) Lawrence M. Small, "The Festival as Cultural Partnership." in Smithsonian Folklife Festival Program Book (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2006), 6. (46.) Chapman and Grace, "Alberta at the Smithsonian," 26. (47.) Chapman and Groce, "'Alberta at the Smithsonian," 26. (48.) Chapman and Grace, "'Alberta at the Smithsonian," 26. (49.) Chapman and Groce. "Alberta at the Smithsonian." 26. (50.) Chapman and Groce, ''Alberta at the Smithsonian," 27. The multicultural nature of the province was primarily showcased at the Festival through the performances. These included Asani, a trio of a capella perfomers who sing in Cree; storyteller Hal Eagletail from the Tsuu T'ina .(Sarcee) Reserve near Calgary; Blackfoot Medicine Speaks, a troupe of performers who arc dedicated to preserving the stories, songs, and dances of the Plains people; the McDades, who perform Celtic-rooted music; and Zabava, a Ukrainian dance troupe. Sec "Festival Participant-.' Dmiyhdonisn Golkligr Grdyibsl zptohtsm zbook (Washington. D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. 2006), 104-113 Although Alberta has the largest Metis population of any province in Canada (85,49.5, according to the 2006 census), this heritage was noticeably absent at. the Festival. Census highlight tables are available at www.12.statcan.ca/english/censusU6/data/highlights/Aboriginal/pages.</P< a>> (51.) Chapman and Groce, "Alberta at the Smithsonian," 38. (52.) Chapman and Groce, "Alberta at the Smithsonian." 38. (53.) The "Labor Program" (later renamed "Working Americans") was initiated at the 1971 Festival with the inclusion of meal cutters and butchers, bakery and confectionery worker, glass bottle blower. and bridge, structural, and ornamental ironworkers. In keeping with the Festival's goals of bringing the marginal into the mainstream and empowering the powerless, over the years it has featured such occupations as plumbers, carpenters, and pipe litters (1973); sleeping-car porters and sharecroppers (1978); cab drivers (1979); and auctioneers (1980). Later choices seem to contradict the Festival's original goals Not-so-marginalized working Americans featured in the Festival have included trial lawyers in 1986, workers at the White House in 1992, and workers at the Smithsonian in 1996. The American trial lawyers program

was quite controversial because of the group's money and power. In the Michigan program (1987:, festival organizers apparently dealt with a similar controversy in representing the automobile industry, as they sought the perspective not of the designers or engineers, but the factory line workers and the Union members. For more information on these controversies see Sommers. "Definitions of 'Folk' and "Lore.'" 1996. In a 2006 newspaper article Nancy Groce noted that the oil companies originally wanted to send their PR representatives for the Alberta program, but the Smith sonian resisted. See Alan Freeman, "Alberta's Gift to Culture." Globe and Mad, June 6, 2006. http://dreamersanddooers.ca/albertainwashington.html (accessed July 18, 2006:. (54.) Chapman and Grace, "Alberta at thee Smithsonian," 40. (55.) Chapman and Grace, "Alberta at the Smithsonian," 40. (56.) Chapman and Grace, "Alberta at the Smithsonian," 37. (57.) Chapman and Grace, "Alberta at the Smithsonian," 40. (58.) Chapman and Grace. "Alberta at the Smithsonian.'' 36. (59.) Max Foran, "Alberta, Canada: Frontiers and Fusions in North America's 'Last, Besl West.,'" in Smithsoman Folklife Festival Program Book, 44-45: Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. 2006). (60.) Foran, "Alberta, Canada," 4b. (61.) Foran, "Alberta, Canada," 45. (62.) Chapman and Grace, "Alberta at the Smithsonian," 39. (63.) Chapman and Grace, "Alberta at the Smithsonian," 34. (64.) A November 12, 2007. article in article in the New Yorker highlights the damage to the environment caused by oil sands mining, including an increase in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the processing required to convert the sands into oil (Elizabeth Kolbert, "Unconventional Crude," New Yroker, November 12, 2007. 46-51). Canada's Failure to abide by the Kyoto protocol (of which it was an early signatory) is noted by Diana Gibson and Gordon l.axer in the Globe and Mail on May 17, 2006 ("The Gassy Elephant in Our Living Room"), (65.) George Melnyk. "Regionalism and Its Discontents." in Beyond Alienation: Political Essays on the West (Calgary: Detselig Enterprises, Ltd, 1993), 17-18. (66.) Melnyk, "Regionalism and Its Discontents," 18. (67.) See Menyk and also John F Conway, "Reflections on Canada in the Year 1997 98," in Images of Canadianness: Visions on Canada's Politics, Culture, Economics, ed. Leen d'Haenens (Ottawa: International Council for Canadian Studies, 1998), 7 28. (68.) The exhibition opened on March 24, 2008, at the University of Calgary's Glenbow Museum. (69.) This statement refers the Festival's products, such as musical recordings and documentaries. Alberta Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations. "Alberta at the Smithsonian," November 30, 2005, http://www.iir.gov.ali.ca/international_relations/documents/updatedfaI105.pdf [accessed July 24. 2006). (70.) Alberta Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations, "Alberta at the Smithsonian." (71.) Alberta Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations. '"Alberta at (he Smithsonian." (72.) The website has been dismantled and is no longer accessible. Subsequent notes that give only a title and a date refer to Alberta government press releases from this website. (73.) The scope of this article does not permit a thorough examination of these entries, but in general their tone is newsy and the writers have nothing but positive things to say about their time in Washington, D.C. This is to be expected, given that the blogs were published on an official site (sponsored by the provincial government of' Alberta). (74.) "Smithsonian Folklife Festival Features Alberta," March 22, 2005. (75.) "Smithsonian Folklife Festival Features Alberta." (76.) "Smithsonian Folklife Festival Features Alberta." (77.) "Minister Meets with Smithsonian Officials," June 22, 2005. (78.) 'Alberta Energizes U.S. Capital," April 21, 2006. This theme was echoed in the text of a free fan being given away to festival visitors. It read: "Alberta, Feel the Energy." The supporting material stated. "Alberta is fuelled by the energy of our people, our passion for culture, our beautiful landscape and our abundant resources." On the reverse side the text boasted about some of Alberta's cultural (and climatological) features: Jasper and Banff National Park, North America's biggest Fringe Festival, North America's first covered speed-skating oval, Dinosaur Provincial Park, and the most days of sunshine in Canada. All the discursive conflicts embedded in the Alberta Program are neatly captured on the fan.

(79.) "Alberta Week to Strengthen Alberta/US. Relations," June 22, 2006. (80.) "Alberta Energizes U.S. Capital." (81.) "Alberta Students Video-conferencing to Smithsonian Festival," June 7, 2006. (82.) "50 Alberta Students to Study at Smithsonian," June 29, 2006. (83.) "Art Donation Honors Festival Legacy," June 28. 2006. (84.) Alberta Government, "Final Mission Report: Alberta at the Smithsonian June 26 July 11, 2006."' September 11. 2006, http://www.advamncededucation.gov.ab.ca/IntlEd/Final_Overview.pdf (accessed September 15,2006). (85.) Alberta Ministry of International and Intergovernmental Relations, "Alberta at the Smithsonian." (86.) Alberta Government, "Final Mission Report," 1. (87.) Alberta Government. "Final Mission Report," 1. (88.) Alberta Government, "Final Mission Report," 12. (89.) Alberta Government, "Final Mission Report," 1. (90.) "Festival Closes, Knowledge of .Alberta Up," July 12. 2006. (91.) Alberta Government, "Final Mission Report," 12. * Throughout the article, dollar figures are given in Canadian currency unless otherwise noted. Jennifer L Gauthier "Whose mission accomplished? Alberta at the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival". American Review of Canadian Studies. FindArticles.com. 05 Nov, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb009/is_4_38/ai_n31342192/ COPYRIGHT 2008 Association for Canadian Studies in the United States COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning