Malcolm Groat namesake for Groat Road, Groat Ravine, and Groat Park
Malcolm Groat was one of the first settlers to lay claim to land outside of the palisades of Fort Edmonton. Within a few years of beginning his Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) career at the age of 25, Groat was deployed to Fort Edmonton.
There he served as steward to the fort’s most senior officer, Chief Factor William Joseph Christie, who was Métis. Aside from attending to Christie’s personal needs, Groat’s main responsibilities were the company farm and pack trains. In 1870, Malcolm Groat ended up marrying the boss's daughter, Marguerite Christie.
In 1878, at the age of 39, Malcolm left the HBC. He and Marguerite began farming land he had staked in 1870, when the HBC had surrendered most of its land to the Dominion of Canada. As the surrendered land hadn’t been surveyed yet, Malcolm was able to stake claim to 900 acres, more than a square mile, on the west side of the land that the HBC had retained for itself.
The Groat homestead became known as Groat Estates. Their River Lot stretched from present day 121 Street to 149 Street, and from the North Saskatchewan river to roughly 111 Avenue. To put that in contemporary terms, the homestead spanned all of Westmount, Glenora, North Glenora, Grovenor, and McQueen. More at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kIzIOHyHL1iDpVMbB_IzDHCh1Z0flB0a/view
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is September 30
September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day designated to honour the survivors of and the children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as their families and communities. This day is Call to Action 80, a federal statutory day of commemoration, as set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in its final report which details 94 calls to action to further reconciliation between Canadians and Indigenous peoples.
Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event, held in Williams Lake, BC, in the spring of 2013, that was inspired by Phyllis (Jack) Webstad's story of having her new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission. Since then, this day has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually.
On September 30, a Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk will be held to raise funds for OrangeShirtDay.org and local grassroots movements including promoting and supporting Indigenous athletes. It will be a pavement and trail run through YEG river valley trails, starting at Kinsmen Park, and includes three distances of 5km, 10km and a kid 2.15km race. Info and registration at https://raceroster.com/events/2022/62466/orange-shirt-day-runwalk
Ghost magpies add intrigue to Edmonton’s urban wildlife
Ghost magpies are birds that, through a genetic mutation, exhibit imperfect albinism. The mutation means the amount of black pigmentation in their feathers is much lower than in normal black-billed magpies, giving them a distinct white-grey colouring and, curiously, blue eyes.
According to Royal Alberta Museum ornithologist Jocelyn Hudon, the phenomenon is highly unusual, and Edmonton could be called the world’s ghost magpie capital. The prevalence of the odd avians in Edmonton likely traces back to a single magpie that displayed the mutation many years ago, Hudon says. Over time, more birds have taken on the distinct quality or have carried the mutation, making ghost magpies a trademark of Edmonton’s urban wildlife.
The mutation that causes the discolouration is recessive, meaning that both parents must possess the ghostly gene for a child to inherit it. That means, much like humans don’t have to be left-handed to carry the recessive trait of left-handedness, there’s many normal-looking magpies in Edmonton that carry imperfect albinism. More at https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/rare-albino-magpie-spotted-in-edmonton
Buffalo Wallow Natural Play Area
The entrance to Gold Bar Park may feature The Magpie & The Buffalo Treaty, a new piece of art, but further in is the Buffalo Wallow Natural Play Area. A buffalo wallow is a topographical depression in the flat prairie which holds rainwater and serves as a watering hole for animals. Bison used these spots to roll in the dirt to remove pests like ticks and mosquitos.
Bison were vital to the Blackfoot people, as to all Indigenous peoples of the plains. The Blackfoot had established words and meanings for their migration patterns, which often coincided with the change of the seasons. In honour of the bison roaming north yearly, one of the City of Edmonton’s wards was given the name Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi, which means the migration of the bison north for calving season in Blackfoot.
It is known that bison would migrate up to 300 kilometres north of the North Saskatchewan River to the safety of artesian wells to gather for the winter. The Blackfoot (Nitsitapi) are often associated with Southern Alberta, but their traditional migration patterns followed the bison up to the North Saskatchewan River. Watch video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFDXfLWUzxw&t=2s
River valley trees and beavers
Raquel writes “I am curious about the tree caging philosophy of the city. Do they cage trees to prevent felling too much, not enough, or just right? I can see caging an occasional “prize” but otherwise I would tend to let the beaver fell what the wish. Who could we ask to find out about their approach?
The places in Dawson Park where beavers have cut young poplar show tremendous new growth. Studies have shown as beaver cull trees they create light gaps for younger trees resulting in structural diversity. Sometimes beavers will even create sapling gardens where rapidly growing saplings can sustain them for a long time.
New art installed in Kinnaird Ravine
Community effort from creation to installation by Parkdale Cromdale Community League in partnership with CreArt Edmonton.
Comment or contribution
Please note that articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the wide variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley. Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com
Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712