Action for Healthy Communities has supported immigrants settling in rural Alberta since 2020 through our Small Centres program. We are proud to be part of a long tradition of helping immigrants come to our province and making it their home. Rural Alberta has been home to immigrants from around the world for more than 100 years. Stories of immigrants from Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine, are well-known, but the Ukrainians were not the only immigrants settling in the Prairies at the turn of the 20th century. Rural Alberta is home to a unique piece of Canada’s Black History: Amber Valley.

The Homesteaders

In 1872, much of Western Canada was very sparsely populated. Settlements were rare, small, and far away from each other. Canada’s government in Ottawa was anxious that the “wild west” of the United States—with gunslingers and cowboys, cattle theft, and limited ability to enforce the law—would come north and disrupt Canada’s growing economy and nationhood.

In 1872, much of Western Canada was very sparsely populated. Settlements were rare, small, and far away from each other. Canada’s government in Ottawa was anxious that the “wild west” of the United States—with gunslingers and cowboys, cattle theft, and limited ability to enforce the law—would come north and disrupt Canada’s growing economy and nationhood.

To solve the problem, the Government of Canada signed the Dominion Lands Act. Under the Act, families, companies, religious communities, and other organizations could claim a “homestead” in rural Western Canada. These homesteads were small parcels of land which could be used for living and farming.

The Government of Canada advertised the homestead lands far and wide: in the United Kingdom, in Europe, and in the United States. These advertisements reached a population of Black Americans living in the Southern United States, which began a movement of Black immigration to Alberta.

The Journey North

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Black Americans were living under racist policies of segregation and the Jim Crow system. Racist violence, including targeted lynchings and riots, was common. Canada’s promise of available land, safety, and prosperity was attractive to potential immigrants.

While Canada’s homesteading policy provided opportunities for landownership unavailable to Black people in the southern United States, it was also plagued by racism. Potential Black immigrants were targeted to prove their literacy and financial stability above and beyond what was required for immigrants arriving from Europe. Relatively few Black immigrants were permitted to participate in the program.

From 1909-1911, approximately 1,000 Black Americans from Oklahoma and Texas made the trek to Alberta. Consistent with the homesteading policy, they were able to secure land parcels in rural communities.

In 1910, 300 Black Americans established Pine Creek (renamed Amber Valley in 1931). Located about 160km north of Edmonton, Amber Valley was built from land that had been abandoned by earlier European homesteaders. It required years of labour to be useful for agriculture.

Growth of Amber Valley

From 1911 until the 1940s, Amber Valley was a significant rural community in Northern Alberta. It had a school, educating students from Kindergarten to Grade 8, a post office, and other businesses.

Communication between settlements was very limited, so most Albertans were unaware of the all-Black community near Edmonton. However, a few years after its founding, Amber Valley established a baseball team. The Amber Valley team had only Black players, who would compete against the White players from other rural communities. This was groundbreaking for the time—there were very few Black people in Canada west of Nova Scotia, and in the United States, baseball was legally segregated by race until 1947.

An annual Canada Day baseball tournament would be held in Lac La Biche, about 80 km away. The Amber Valley players were a staple of the event.

An End of Amber Valley

By the 1940s, many homesteaders throughout the Prairies had given up rural life and had chosen to move to larger towns and cities. Amber Valley was no exception. With increasing opportunities available for Black Canadians, most of Amber Valley’s residents moved elsewhere in Canada. In the 1960s, the population significantly decreased, and currently, Amber Valley is considered a ghost town.

The history of Amber Valley still has impacts in Alberta. Some former Amber Valley residents established Shiloh Baptist Church in Edmonton, which remains one of Western Canada’s largest Black churches. It is also located in Queen Mary Park, just a few minutes walk from the Action for Healthy Communities downtown office.

Teaching the History

Amber Valley may be gone, but it is not forgotten.

To celebrate Amber Valley as part of Black History in Canada, Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in 2021. A replica of the Amber Valley schoolhouse stands in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. One of the original cabins built by the earliest settlers is still standing in the community, and visitors can visit the site off Highway 55. While Amber Valley has vanished into history, its legacy and impact it has on Alberta can still be felt today.

Continuing the Legacy

Since the first European settlement in Alberta in 1788, the province has continued to be a place where newcomers come to find opportunities and a new home. Many migrant communities of all cultures and ethnicities have since settled into rural Alberta, an echo of the Amber Valley settlers who came before. For the past 5 years, our Rural Small Centres teams have continued this proud tradition, helping newcomers settle into rural Alberta. While we still have a long way to go, we are grateful for those who came before and helped settle and build Alberta to become the diverse and vibrant province that it is today.