Keywords Museums, Galleries & Archives

The third floor documents the settlement of Western Canada with exhibits tracing the lives and traditions of First Nations peoples and the development of the railway with the consequent swell of immigrants. It also looks at the hardships and joys of ranching and farming in the Calgary area and growing up in the West in the past 100 years. With artifacts ranging from a Blackfoot tipi and the elegant quillwork of the Plains Cree to the precious belongings of early European settlers and the hard-won comforts of a settler's cabin, Glenbow introduces visitors to Canada's Western heritage.

Glenbow's international displays are found on the fourth floor where three exhibitions showcase the diversity of its collections: Where Symbols Meet: A Celebration of West African Achievement explains status and achievement in West Africa; Warriors: A Global Journey Through Five Centuries documents the stories of warriors throughout the ages; and Treasures of the Mineral World displays rocks, minerals and precious gems. The combination of historical and ethnological artifacts found at Glenbow exceeds 192 000 objects with approximately 28 800 in the mineralogy collection.

Glenbow's sixth floor houses a comprehensive archives of more than 2 million images and more than 3.5 kilometres of unpublished manuscripts, records, papers, journals, letters, and diaries of Western Canadian history. Located on the same floor is a reference library of more than 100 000 books, periodicals, newspapers, journals, catalogues and rare maps also focussing on Western Canada.

HBC Officials at Brulé Portage
Frederick Verner, 1876, oil on canvas (courtesy Glenbow Museum).

Glenbow Museum Display
Glenbow Museum, Otter tipi (courtesy Glenbow).

Author CLARE COTTON

Links to Other Sites
Calgary
The official website for the City of Calagary, Alberta.

Glenbow Museum
The official web site of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. Includes selected digitized images from their art, community history, military history, and Native North America collections, primarily focusing on the history of Alberta.

Four Directions Teachings
Elders and traditional teachers representing the Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk, and Mi’kmaq share teachings about their culture. Animated graphics visualize each of the oral teachings. This website also provides biographies of participants, transcripts, and extensive learning resources for students and their teachers. In English with French subtitles.