"The Bears Are Plentiful and Frequently Good Camera Subjects": Postcards and the Framing of Interspecies Encounters in the Canadian Rockies

The following essay considers the role of animal imagery on postcards marketed in Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks. These popular souvenir items have helped shape dominant systems of environmental knowledge. Because of this, postcards should be considered in discussions regarding the ecological health of the region. ********** The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks have always been one of my favourite vacation destinations. (1) Snapshots and nostalgic memories abound of holidays passed in this particular part of Canada. Each one of these holidays included a trip to the local post office to mail postcards to friends and family back home. Until recently I gave little thought to the dozens of postcards purchased and sent on these annual vacations. My current research, however, has me wondering about the broader environmental and cultural implications of this ritualistic holiday act. A large number of these souvenir items feature images of bears: bears that have become a commodity of "the wild." The following discussion considers this commodification as it relates to current environmental and interspecific concerns facing Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks. The study of postcards is, by necessity, an interdisciplinary venture, one that raises questions about the role of images and icons in the production of discursive systems (Nancy), as well as relationships between written and visual texts (Mitchell). These inexpensive, popular souvenir items have historically been neglected in the realm of academic inquiry, and it is only in recent years that scholars have considered how these cultural texts can have meaning beyond the realm of personal correspondence; as Annette Pritchard and Nigel Morgan argue, "picture postcards are a rich cultural reservoir of popular perceptions of people and places" (111). My own critical interest in postcards centres on the relationship of image and text; I ask, in particular, how these elements work to shape dominant cultural understandings of nature and the nonhuman world. In recent years, many environmental historians have argued that a perceptual division between ideals of "nature" and ideals of "culture" is at the root of many current environmental problems (see, e.g., William Cronon; Richard White; Neil Evernden). The notion that "nature" exists outside of and stands separate from human society and technology presents a challenge for addressing ecological problems in the twenty-first century. Not only does this dominant way of thinking mask many environmental tensions, but also it creates a sense of separation between most people's lived experiences and the environmental impact of their day-to-day activities. To conceive of "nature" as existing separately from "culture" is to deny the sense of interconnectedness that affects all forms of life on Earth. As Neil Evernden argues, "Nature is [...] nowhere near as independent or as 'given' as we like to suppose" (xii). For those concerned with addressing twenty-first century environmental issues, a critical re-thinking of what "nature" is and means is necessary. In spaces designated as National Parks, there exists a specific way of viewing the nonhuman world. This particular way of framing and engaging with the nonhuman world--what I refer to as "National Park Nature"--is thoroughly mediated by the tourism industry. National Park Nature frames the landscapes of Jasper and Banff National Parks as "unspoiled" and "pristine" "wilderness playgrounds" to which one can "escape" in order to engage in healthy recreational pursuits, gaze upon "exotic" scenery, and live in harmony (even if only for a few days) with the animals who are "protected" by Park borders. The repetition of visual and textual codes reinforces this position, and goes a long way toward masking very real environmental tensions in these landscapes. Canadian National Parks face many of the same stresses as other regions of the Canadian landscape, stresses that are masked through the rhetoric of "pristine" wilderness so dominant in National Park Nature. …