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  • An illustration. A silhouette of a hand with broken, twisted fingers frames faces of Indigenous children in school uniforms, seated as if posing for a class picture. The background is the colour of dried blood, and between the silhouetted fingers, the background juts in in the shape of even smaller hands, covering children's eyes, ears, and mouths.

    “More Than Half a Day”: Child Labour at the St. Albert Youville Indian Residential School

    Crystal Gail Fraser

    A letter written by a lawyer in 1939 shows Indigenous families challenging the legality of forced child labour at St. Albert Youville Indian Residential School. For decades, at this school and others, Indigenous children endured exploitation, violence, and dangerous work under the “half-day” system. Parents and children resisted, despite repression. Survivors’ stories demand accountability, truth, and justice, as Canada continues failing to act on reconciliation.

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  • Senior portrait of a young white woman with dark hair wearing a high-collared dress. Text read “Miss G. Misener.” It is the senior photo of Geneva Misener from Queen’s University.

    “More than a prize scholar or bookworm”: The Leadership and Legacy of Dr. Geneva Misener

    Pamela Young

    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.

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  • : A three-storey brick cell block is connected to a workshop and another large industrial building with two tall chimneys. There is a large hole in the side of one of the buildings suggesting it had started to be dismantled and/or suffered structural damage. A tilled farm field that would have been worked by prisoners is in the foreground.

    Hard Times in the Alberta Penitentiary, 1906-1920

    Matt Ormandy

    The Alberta Penitentiary operated on Edmonton’s River Lot 20 from 1906 – 1920, where Clarke Stadium is today. It was the first federal prison in Alberta. One constant in prisoners’ lives was unpaid hard labour, from mining coal to farming potatoes.

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  • A black and white photograph of a middle-aged woman shown in profile from the shoulders up. She wears a v-cut black top with a long white pearl necklace and her hair is pulled back into a low bun.

    Maud Bowman: The leader who kickstarted the Art Gallery of Alberta

    Danielle Siemens

    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.

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  • Edmonton Streetcar 33: The Highs and Lows of a Public Transit Vehicle

    Adeline Panamaroff

    Relying only on volunteer labour, the need to fabricate many of the mechanical and structural parts from scratch, as well as [funding grants from] which did not come on a constant schedule, this rebuild of Edmonton streetcar No.33 took over a decade to complete. 

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  • When Polio Was in Edmonton

    Kassandra Milette

    It was late in October 1947 that the school year finally started. It is fair to say that a start…

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  • Wong Bark Ging 黃柏振 : A History of My Father’s Market Gardens

    Ging Wei Wong 黃景煒

    One hundred years ago my father stepped onto Canadian soil for the first time. It wasn’t until he passed away…

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  • Tokens of Remembrance: Indigenous Faces in Edmonton’s Beaux Arts Architecture, 1907-1930

    Cole Hawkins

    Disclaimer: Due to the importance around the legal designation of Indian status, this article sometimes uses the term “Indian” to…

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  • Early Market Gardens in Edmonton

    Katherine Koller

    Surrounded by rows of towering tomato, cucumber and pepper plants in a greenhouse near Edmonton, I marvelled at tapas from…

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  • In Dark Times, Go to the Garden: Part 2

    Jenna Chalifoux

    With the last blast of winter gusto already forgotten and double-digit weather on the horizon, now’s the time to start…

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  • History of the Edmonton Branch of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, 1911-1966

    Brandi Goddard

    Craftwork, as a hobby, has seen a resurgence of popularity recently. Knitting for example, has become a social act with…

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  • Alfred Carrothers: Early Edmonton’s Crooked Confidence Man

    Dr. Aidan Forth

    The owner of any historic home will wonder about the generations that have lived within its walls. When I recently…

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