Canada Post’s 2021 Black History month honours two black communities who carved out lives in Canada, Amber Valley, Alberta and Willow Grove, New Brunswick. I started drafting a single article but became engrossed in the histories of these communities and realised they deserved separate recognition. The first of two posts starts with Amber Valley.

2021 Black History Month – Amber Valley Alberta

Amber Valley is located 170 kilometres north of Edmonton. If you are familiar with northern Alberta, then you understand how cold and remote the Athabasca region is. The people who settled Amber Valley took a difficult and at times dangerous trek from Alabama and Oklahoma, determined to create a better life in Canada, far away, hopefully, from the Jim Crow south.

The influx was sparked by a Canadian Immigration Dept, campaign to bring new settlers to the prairie provinces with promises of free land. Over a 2 year span, approx. 1,000 Black-Americans responded to the ads and settled in Pine Creek, Alberta (later renamed Amber Valley), Junkins, Alberta (renamed Wildwood), Keystone, Alberta (renamed Breton) and Campsie and Maidstone, Saskatchewan. A group of 100, headed for Amber Valley in 1909. They were joining Reverend Harrison (Henry) Sneed, who made the first trip to the Athabasca valley to survey the area in 1905.

Frustrated by their disfranchisement and fearful of escalating white violence, black Oklahomans proved receptive to the appeals of Canadian officials and looked to Canada as their new hope for a promised land of equality and opportunity. Between 1905 and 1912, over 1,000
African Americans made the trek to Canada and most of them came from Oklahoma. Many of these Canadian immigrants had been migrants to Oklahoma, who had hoped for an all-black state but instead encountered white violence and Jim Crowism. They believed they had been abandoned by America and hoped to lead freer lives in Canada, where they were told prosperity awaited. Although part of the larger white migration, African Americans regarded their move to Canada in very different ways from white Americans.

“We Heard Canada Was a Free Country”: African American Migration in the Great Plains, 1890-1911 (siu.edu)

Amber Valley Alberta, settled by black immigrants from Oklahoma USA in 1909

Racism in Canada – “campaign of diplomatic racism”

Various records offer up different numbers of people who followed Rev Sneed.  Most indicate approx. 100 people made up the first trip. More followed, but by 1911, a group of 200 blacks, heading to Amber Valley encountered racist issues at the border. It’s easy to gloss over the success of the community and pretend they were welcome to the North, but the Black Americans succeeded because they persevered, not because a welcome mat was rolled out.

Old racist tropes were resurrected to prevent blacks from settling Canada, ranging from the hysteria claiming black communities were dangerous to white homes, to black homesteads would drive the price of land down. The Federal government was petitioned to halt all non-white immigration to the country.

Once black settlers started arriving in larger numbers, however, they did rely upon indirect methods to discourage these “undesirables” from undertaking the journey up north. While simultaneously advertised as hospitable and inviting to the American whites, the climate of the Canadian west was presented as much too cold and severe for any blacks. Strict economic and physical standards aimed at restricting newcomers, but most blacks passed the tests. Finally, agents hired by the Canadian government were sent Oklahoma to persuade these potential immigrants that Albertan soil was poor and that they would, in any case, have difficulty crossing the border. These informal policies were effective, and by 1912, black immigration to Alberta had all but ended.

Land of Opportunity – The Great Migration – Black Communities in Alberta (collectionscanada.gc.ca)

Actions by the Canadian government killed off the movement north. By 1911, white communities were pressuring the government to act.  On August 12, 1911, Order-in-Council 1324 was drafted to stop all black immigration for up to a year.

“the serious menace to the future welfare of a large portion of western Canada, by reason of the alarming influx of Negro settlers.”

Minister of the Interior Frank Oliver MP Edmonton in letter to PM Laurier

Although Order 1324 failed to become official policy, other methods were instituted. 1324 failed, not because of a sense of anti-racist sentiment on behalf of the Canadian cabinet, but because the Laurier government was facing an election year and they didn’t want to stir up any controversies or start a political row with the US.

Instead, Canada began what has been described as a “campaign of diplomatic racism.” A polite way of saying Canada instituted racist rules but did it in a way that didn’t draw attention. If there’s one thing Canada excels at, it’s being polite and hiding our racism behind a cloak of respectability. Medical exams were made harder to pass for blacks, doctors were bribed to fail applicants, head taxes of up to $50 per person instituted, certificates proving suitability as farmers refused were among the tactics used. The government finally resorted to sending officials to Oklahoma to discourage blacks directly. Only then did black immigration fall off.

Photos of black citizens from Amber Valley

Searching through various archives rewarded me with many photos of the citizens of Amber Valley. Too many to post here, but a wonderful look at a flourishing black community.

Jesse Bowen and Frank Jamerson 1920. Archives society of Alberta

Young farmer with horse. Amber Valley around 1920s Archives society of Alberta

Unknown woman milking a cow in 1920.s Archives society of Alberta

Like many rural communities, people gradually drifted away to larger cities for better economic opportunities. Farming is arduous work; farming in a northern community can be harsh and unforgiving. Over the decades, Amber Valley’s population declined until it was nothing more but a memory. The school closed in 1950s and the post office in 1968.  As the remaining population began to age and die, their original homesteads were either sold, demolished, or left to disintegrate into the soil.

Some of the descendants of Amber Valley’s immigrants were Violet King Henry, Canada’s first black, female attorney, Cheryl Foggo, award winning author and playwright, and Oliver Bowen, engineer behind Calgary’s first light rail. The Oklahomans who settled in Alberta left a hell of a legacy.

Amber Valley stamp for 2021 Black History Month

Amber Valley Stamp – Black History Month 2021 Canada

Lime Design’s Lara Minja created both stamps for Black History Month.  The First Day Cover bears a cancelation from Athabasca, AB (where Amber Valley is).

Athabasca 2021 postal cancel

If you find these stamps & their histories interesting, check out Lime Design’s previous Black History Month stamps. Designer Lara Minja has created 4 previous series and they are equally outstanding. Minja is talented and imaginative in her designs. If you collect Canadian, history or Black History stamps, these should be in your collection.

I’ll post about the second stamp in this series later and pop a link here when it’s done.  The second half of this set can be read about here: 

Black History Month 2021- Willow Grove NB stamp

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