The perspectives and stories of women have often been downplayed or excluded from representations of history. In this collection, discover parts of Edmonton’s heritage history by exploring the stories of women.
We continue to learn and grow together as we build this collection to better amplify the voices and stories of diverse women.
In 2020, Giselle General discovered a museum exhibit honouring Tessie Oliva, a pioneering Filipino-Canadian nurse who supported immigrant nurses in Alberta. Oliva’s decades of work included founding the Filipino Nurses Association in Alberta, advocating for Internationally Educated Nurses, organizing large-scale recruitment from the Philippines, and fighting for permanent residency for newcomers—cementing her legacy in Edmonton’s healthcare and immigrant communities.
Geneva Misener, the University of Alberta’s first woman professor, was a pioneering Classicist and tireless advocate for women’s rights. Born in 1877, she earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, co-founded the Canadian Federation of University Women, and promoted women’s education, suffrage, and sport. Though underrecognized today, her enduring legacy reminds us that individual resolve can drive lasting social change.
When Sunwapta Broadcasting first produced local television in Edmonton in 1954, CFRN aimed daytime programs at the homemaker audience. Laura Banks was the popular face of this programming from 1955-1968, under the stage name Laura Lindsay. Decades after her death, she remains well-loved by women who tuned in for her sewing and cooking demonstrations and celebrity interviews.
In 1932, Edmonton had the best women’s basketball team in the world: the Edmonton Commercial Graduates. But it looked like they’d have to miss a charity game that May in Calgary – they’d never be able to get there in time after work. Until, that is, the Grads’ coach rallied supporters to strap some seats into the back of two little aircraft and make history.
In the early 1920s, a resolute woman named Maud Bowman set out to start the Edmonton Museum of Arts – today’s Art Gallery of Alberta. Bowman was a somewhat unconventional model of a female museum leader. Her work is even more remarkable given the sexism she faced.
NOTE: this article contains historical but outdated and offensive language related to mental illness and neurodiversity. Leilani Muir was born…
Would you be surprised if I told you that Edmonton’s schools were a more prominent contributor to Edmonton’s 1918 influenza…
Imrie House preserves the life and work of two pioneering female architects and their love of nature: Mary Imrie and Jean Wallbridge.
“Sophie had red hair and was a lively personality,” Joan said. “She was a schoolteacher and goal-focused. She was determined to get that cart path.”
When Marguerite reached the tiny house with the Assiniboine River ambling by and its thickets of linden and maple awash…
The 1821 merger of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) and the North-West Company (NWC) harkened an era of unfettered commerce…
Have you ever heard of the China Dolls? Not the glazed porcelain dolls or the 2015 novel written by Chinese-American…
An April 1946 photo of three young Chinese women in the Edmonton Journal readily captured a reader’s eye. Freshly home…
Margaret Chappelle was an unlikely activist: the only child of wealthy parents, and wife to a successful young doctor, she…
Young people today may not be familiar with the name Dasha Goody, but she was one of the doyennes of…
In August of 1782, Fort York was captured by the French. Edward Umphreville and some other HBC men were taken by…
There are many notable women in Edmonton’s history books. The ‘Famous Five’ may come to mind straight away, in addition to…
History is how we understand the past and that understanding is based on records made and kept by biased hands….
Disclaimer: Please note that this piece references anti-Black violence, brutality, and white supremacy. A reference to a specific act of…
Lila Fahlman’s career as an activist began with a riot. It was Canada Day 1935, and the 11-year-old Lila was…
“The government can make all the laws they want, but they can’t stop people from going on strike… You could…
Edmontonian Hilwie Hamdon (née Taha Johma, 1905-1988) was a community leader and founding member of the historic Al Rashid Mosque, the…
Craftwork, as a hobby, has seen a resurgence of popularity recently. Knitting for example, has become a social act with…
It’s 2003, early in the new millennium but regrettably late in the story I’m aiming to tell. Doris Tanner died…
When Margaret Crang won a seat as an alderman in the 1933 municipal election, she set the record as the…
Last year, while exploring South Asian music history in Edmonton, I randomly searched “Singh + artist + 70s Edmonton” and…
When Dr. Anne Anderson was born on a river lot farm east of St. Albert in 1906, she was so…
Growing up, Alice Mailhot set her sights on being an engineer like her father. Perhaps Zepherin Mailhot’s life in frontier…
Womonspace was a social and recreational group for lesbians founded in 1981. Part of Edmonton’s LGBTQ landscape for over thirty…
Disclaimer: Due to the importance around the legal designation of Indian status, this article sometimes uses the term “Indian” to…
How did a mosque come to be in Fort Edmonton Park? Where did it come from? Why does it look…
Edmonton’s history is full of remarkable women. From Beatrice Carmichael to Thelma Chalifoux, from Betty Stanhope-Cole to Felicia Graham, from…
As the century continued, Edmonton entered a heyday of its own, including the opening of the University of Alberta in…
Known to her students and close friends as Auntie Van, Beatrice Carmichael was a classically trained musician from Chicago, who…
Our mothers are more than just a physical person, just as our houses are more than just a structure to…
In the book Women: Her Character, Culture and Calling published in 1890 the author writes; Woman the half of humanity, and…
Just east of the Capilano Bridge, there is a small park overlooking the Highlands Golf Club. It has a view…
In 1908, Alberta premier Alexander Rutherford’s dream came to fruition. The University of Alberta was formed in Strathcona, and class…
During the five years of the Second World War, Edmonton came into its own as a city, where anything is…
Just as importantly, the earliest archivists and some government leaders understood the enormous value of this visual history, and had…
