Beyond the postcard: Rethinking heritage and place in Yoho National Park, British Columbia

Associated with every place is a particular imaginary; a way of understanding the landscape based on certain popular expectations and assumptions. In many regions of Canada, this imaginary is based on elements of the natural environment. In the Rockies, for example, images of pristine lakes and rugged mountain peaks define the landscape. For the Prairies, it is images of wheat fields and open skies. In the North, this imaginary is based on images of snow and endless terrain, while for the Maritimes, rugged coastlines and quaint fishing ports define the landscape. While these visual images give a region a sense of definition and identity, they are also limiting in what they tell us about a place. Beyond the images replicated in postcards and presented in memory, are many other aspects of the landscape that have not been included. These hidden images are as much a part of the landscape as the dominant images that define them. In the pages that follow, this thesis will examine the landscape of a tourist destination in the Canadian Rockies to reveal the importance of rethinking popular notions of heritage and place. By looking at how little is known about Otter Camp, an internment camp that was located in Yoho National Park during the First World War, this research will show how these popular images can dominate, and therefore distort, our understanding of places in general, and this Park in particular. In doing so, the research will fill a gap in the human heritage of Yoho National Park, and will enhance our appreciation and understanding of the places we live in and visit.