An art exhibit in the Okotoks Municipal Centre is honouring the five Alberta suffragists known as the Famous Five.
Back in 1927, the Famous Five launched a legal challenge to the British North America Act, which was preventing women from being recognized under the official term "person".
Since they weren't listed as 'persons', women were not able to be appointed to the Senate.
After a couple of years of fighting, women were included in the term 'persons' under the British North America Act in 1929.
For the 70th anniversary of the 'Persons' Case, a monument/maquette project was created to help honour those women and their work.
Barbara Paterson, an Edmonton area sculptor, was chosen to create the maquettes and monuments, which she did in 1997.
"The maquette, which is currently at the Okotoks Municipal Town Centre, that was actually the original model that she created out of bronze that would become the basis for the larger monuments," explains Kimberly Gunn, who is a Project Manager with the Famous 5 Foundation. "Two larger than life bronze public monument statues were built on that original design."
One of those statues is in storage in Calgary, while the other is in front of the Senate on Parliament Hill.
The maquette is part of the Trailblazers Tour, which helps Canadians learn more about the country's history and the Famous Five.
According to Kathy Coutts, who works at the Okotoks Museum and Archives, this exhibit ended up being in Okotoks, because the Town was contacted by the Famous 5 Foundation in January, asking if the Town would be interested in exhibiting the statues as part of the Famous 5 Trailblazers Tour.
"And the Town jumped at that opportunity to host the tour," Coutts explains.
These pieces are currently set up at the Okotoks Municipal Centre and will be on display until March 28.
Kathy Coutts says there will be information on each one of the women at the exhibit, as well as a QR code, which will provide more information.
"By hosting the exhibit at the Municipal Centre, rather than at the museum, it provides the public, particularly young people, with the chance to learn more about the roles and responsibilities of elected office. So, it's really important to promote that women never used to be able to serve in public office, and because of the Famous Five efforts, women became eligible to serve in municipal, provincial, or federal office," Coutts explains.
While these women helped women in Canada be listed as 'Persons' in Canada, and more, they did hold some questionable beliefs, such as supporting eugenics and sterilization laws.
According to Gunn, it was a different time when those women were alive.
"Canada had a very small immigration population, and there certainly would have been different views at that time," Gunn explains. "We would like to think they would think differently if it were today."
As a Foundation, they don't agree with everything that the Famous Five believed in.
To learn more about the Famous Trailblazers Tour, click here.