National Indigenous History Month is an opportunity to learn about the unique cultures, traditions and experiences of the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. “It’s a time to honour the stories, achievements and resilience of Indigenous Peoples, who have lived on this land since time immemorial and whose presence continues to impact the evolving Canada.” We’re turning to four of Alberta’s magazines to learn and to celebrate Indigenous History Month.

In her Windspeaker.com book review “The Knowing solves a mystery while turning Canadian history on its head,” Shari Narine describes how The Knowing’s author Tanya Talaga, an award-winning journalist of Anishinaabe and Polish descent and a member of the Fort William First Nation, “deftly braids her personal and heartbreaking family story of colonization, residential schools, health institutions, and violence with the broader story of First Nations people.” Alongside her personal account of intergenerational trauma, and the process of discovering the truth of her family’s history, Talaga also “offers a reassessment of Canadian history that challenges the Western history books.”

airdrielife magazine wrote about how “Bronze sculptures honour Indigenous legacy” with information about “five anonymously donated bronze sculptures called ‘Îethka Stoney Grandmother’s Teachings’” featured in Nose Creek Regional Park. The sculptures depict “a grandmother sharing her traditional knowledge of local vegetation with her grandchildren” in 1909, the year that the City of Airdrie was established on the traditional home of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina Nation, Stoney-Nakoda Nations and the People of Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. The Circle Connections for Reconciliation Society consulted with community Elders and Indigenous advisors to ensure the accuracy of the piece.

In 2021, Tim Lasiuta profiled “Trailblazer ~ Joachim Fromhold” for Canadian Cowboy Country, describing an influential figure who established educational, historical and cultural programming in his community, including: a Native Arts and Crafts/Native Studies program at the Alberta Vocational Centre (AVC) in Lac La Biche (now Portage College); as a co-founder and powwow director of the White Braid Dancers; creator of the first Wilderness Cultural Camp in Alberta alongside his wife Irene Mountain; and as a founder of the Mountain Peoples Cultural Society (later known as the Mountain Cree Asini Wachi Nehiyawak Band). Fromhold was “instrumental in establishing the written Aboriginal history in Western Canada and beyond. Through his genealogical research, published in various books and magazines, he formalized the presence and lineage of the Cree peoples.”

In a review of the Whyte Museum’s exhibition “The Ancestors Are Talking – Paintings by the Indigenous Seven,” Galleries West describes how “art, colour, culture, and spirituality filled the early conversations of the Indigenous Group of Seven followed with decades of painting and activism. They created art to awaken a troubled world, with colours from the quantum reality.” The Indigenous Seven include: Daphne Odjig (1919-2016), Alex Janvier (1935-2024), Norval Morisseau’s (1932-2007), Carl Ray (1943-1978), Jackson Beardy (1944-1984), Eddy Cobiness (1933-1996), and Joseph Sánchez (b. 1948), the exhibition’s lead curator and last living member. The exhibition is on display at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff from May 2 to October 19, 2025.

Immerse yourself in Indigenous art appreciation. Learn about Indigenous leaders and traditional knowledge. Dedicate time to understanding the intergenerational trauma of colonization and residential schools. Honour the history of Alberta’s Indigenous Peoples.