356:. For the first few years they had difficulties, as the climate was harsher than what they were used to in Oklahoma. They had both to clear and cultivate land for crops, and build their houses from the ground up. Most of the early ones were log cabins. The settlers were resilient and three quarters of the African Americans stayed on their land in Alberta long enough and developed it in order to secure their homestead patents, a higher percentage than of some other settlers groups. They built a school house in 1913 and a
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in
Alberta until the 1930s. It received a post office in 1931, when it officially established the name of the community. At that time the community had about 300 people, and supported a two-room schoolhouse. Because of a decline in population as people moved to cities and areas with more economic
398:
Beginning in the 1950s, many descendants of the original settlers began moving to near cities such as
Edmonton to escape the rigours of rural life and have more economic opportunity. In Edmonton, Amber Valley descendants founded the Shiloh Baptist Church, one of the few
303:. Its elevation is 608 m (1,995 ft). Originally named Pine Creek, Amber Valley was among several Alberta communities settled in the early 20th century by early Black immigrants to the province from
538:(2004), is set in the fictional town of Aster, based on this historic settlement. It features a Ghanaian-Canadian civil servant from Calgary who moves his family there in 1968 after inheriting property.
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continued to work. Obadiah replaced the first house with a brick one in 1938. The house and homestead, with outbuildings, has been preserved as
552:'s Commemorating Black History series was designed in honour of Amber Valley's original Black settlers. The coin was issued in connection with
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of the United States. About 1,000 African
Americans emigrated to Alberta from 1909-1911. Amber Valley is the location of the
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425:(also known as Willace Bowen) organized the original group of five families who moved from Oklahoma to
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provincial heritage site, a homestead of one of the first
African-American settler families.
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870:"Exclusive interview with Selwyn Jacob: The Producer of the documentary on Harry Jerome"
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906:"Canada Post honours Black community of Amber Valley, Alta., with new stamp | CBC News"
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932:"Royal Canadian Mint Honours Black History Month by Recognizing Amber Valley Settlers"
843:
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794:"John Ware wasn't the only Black settler in Alberta at the turn of the 20th century"
395:. From 1908 to 1911, about 1,000 African Americans settled in Alberta to homestead.
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Other primarily
American Black settlements formed at this time were Junkins (now
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homesteaders established the community. The homesteaders, African
Americans from
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429:, and then to Amber Valley. Willace Bowen established a homestead that his son
968:
North of the Colour Line: Migration and Black
Resistance in Canada, 1870-1955.
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730:"102-year-old church a unique piece of Edmonton'... | Edmonton Examiner"
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conditions in the United States that discriminated against their rights.
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488:, descendant of settlers and the first Canadian Black female attorney
603:
Forests, Furrows and Faith : A History of Boyle and
Districts
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992:, RETROactive blog, Historic Resources Management Branch, Alberta
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in 1914. They developed a baseball team that was widely known in
996:
https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/crossing-boundaries
299:, Canada, approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi) north of
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The community was the subject of the 1984 documentary film
970:
Chapel Hill: The
University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
352:, led a group of settlers from Oklahoma to an area by the
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and honoured for its historic provincial significance.
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Allan Rowe, "African
American Immigration to Alberta"
732:. Edmonton Examiner. February 9, 2012. Archived from
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1021:Populated places established by African Americans
372:opportunity, the post office was closed in 1968.
482:, author, documentary film director, playwright
600:Boyle and District Historical Society (1982).
8:
494:(drummer for the 1960s -'70s pop music band
541:In 2021, the community was honoured with a
844:"A Farmer from Amber Valley: J.D. Edwards"
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616:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
445:, the first Canadian Black female attorney
367:Amber Valley was the largest community of
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756:"Alberta's Black Pioneer Heritage - Home"
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633:"African American Immigration to Alberta"
476:, grandson of Willace Bowen and engineer
641:Alberta Ministry of Culture and Tourism
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868:Turner, Patricia (December 27, 2011).
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441:John King and Stella King, parents of
1001:Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
944:from the original on January 29, 2024
930:Crowther, Hunter (January 27, 2024).
762:from the original on December 8, 2010
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792:Brennan, Brian (February 25, 2016).
637:Historic Resources Management Branch
348:Henry Parson Sneed, a clergyman and
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904:Fida, Kashmala (January 20, 2021).
981:"Alberta's Black Pioneer Heritage"
14:
1016:Black Canadian culture in Alberta
631:Rowe, Allan (February 12, 2015).
410:Amber Valley is now considered a
391:, near Barrhead; and Eldon, near
18:Unincorporated in Alberta, Canada
717:"Black Settlers Come to Alberta"
687:Mikell, Montague (Summer 2000).
61:
54:
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548:One of the silver coins in the
508:, South Asian-Black Jazz singer
1036:Localities in Athabasca County
1031:History of Alberta by location
535:The Second Life of Samuel Tyne
1:
575:"Municipal Officials Search"
75:Location of Amber Valley in
44:Amber Valley Cultural Centre
985:Alberta Online Encyclopedia
502:, related to Harrison Sneed
191: • Governing body
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1026:Black Canadian settlements
387:), southwest of Edmonton;
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579:Alberta Municipal Affairs
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49:
37:
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520:We Remember Amber Valley
358:nondenominational church
329:In 1909, a group of 160
293:unincorporated community
393:Maidstone, Saskatchewan
689:"Fixing Obadiah Place"
498:), descendant born in
106:54.73278°N 112.92944°W
966:Mathieu, Sarah-Jane.
848:whitepinepictures.com
255: • Summer (
719:, Alberta Settlement
606:. Boyle. p. 27.
111:54.73278; -112.92944
554:Black History Month
550:Royal Canadian Mint
451:, also recorded as
102: /
693:Alberta Settlement
457:Henry Parson Sneed
453:Willis Reese Bowen
423:Willis Reese Bowen
183: • Reeve
167:Municipal district
823:HistoricPlaces.ca
695:. Legacy Magazine
486:Violet King Henry
443:Violet King Henry
418:Original settlers
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513:Popular interest
383:; Keystone (now
331:African-American
297:northern Alberta
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278:.athabascacounty
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198:Athabasca County
172:Athabasca County
148:Northern Alberta
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819:"OBADIAH PLACE"
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354:Athabasca River
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662:"Amber Valley"
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87:Coordinates:
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946:. Retrieved
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879:February 21,
877:. Retrieved
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738:. Retrieved
734:the original
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583:. Retrieved
569:
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524:Selwyn Jacob
519:
480:Cheryl Foggo
474:Oliver Bowen
463:J.D. Edwards
421:
409:
397:
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369:Black people
366:
347:
328:
289:Amber Valley
288:
287:
223:Doris Splane
214:Kevin Haines
186:Doris Splane
69:Amber Valley
25:Amber Valley
15:
948:February 1,
828:February 5,
803:February 5,
766:December 8,
699:February 5,
646:February 6,
543:Canada Post
530:Esi Edugyan
492:Floyd Sneed
109: /
97:112°55′46″W
1010:Categories
585:October 1,
561:References
506:Judi Singh
412:ghost town
323:See also:
309:Deep South
178:Government
94:54°43′58″N
853:March 30,
667:April 20,
612:cite book
427:Vancouver
381:Chip Lake
362:the north
238:Time zone
942:Archived
937:CTV News
760:Archived
740:June 24,
379:), near
377:Wildwood
343:Jim Crow
335:Oklahoma
307:and the
305:Oklahoma
301:Edmonton
131:Province
500:Calgary
389:Campsie
319:History
271:Website
200:Council
136:Alberta
122:Country
77:Alberta
915:May 1,
545:stamp.
385:Breton
291:is an
143:Region
125:Canada
556:2024.
350:mason
339:Texas
266:(MDT)
264:UTC-6
243:UTC-7
950:2024
917:2021
881:2014
855:2017
830:2017
805:2017
768:2010
742:2014
701:2017
669:2020
648:2017
618:link
587:2021
337:and
280:.com
910:CBC
403:in
295:in
276:www
257:DST
247:MST
1012::
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
