Wild Alberta History Podcast and Book

Introduction Video

Join us for a one of a kind podcast that imagines dialogue and conversations from actual historical characters who built the northwest region of Alberta. Includes an episode featuring First Nations elders from Alexander First Nation.

This series is produced and hosted by Marvin Polis, whose family called this region home.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

Bootlegging and the Old Athabasca Trail

Until 1899, when Treaty 8 was signed, the land north of Athabasca remained unceded Indigenous territory. This made the Athabasca Landing Trail, in effect, a highway out of government-controlled territory. The lands beyond the Athabasca River, depending on who you were, looked like pristine forest, a lucrative trapping area, or an economic opportunity.

The Northwest Mounted Police were responsible for policing this area and its trails. It was a wide mandate - helping starving Indigenous and settler families, keeping the peace, tracking murderers, and recovering the bodies of unfortunate travellers - but one task, stopping the illegal flow of alcohol into “Indian territory,” as it was then referred to, might have been more time consuming than them all.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

Alberta's Oologist

In a quiet corner of Alberta, one of the world’s greatest egg collections was born.

As the old HBC pack trail was fading back into the forest, word of gold in the Yukon soon had this artery to the north pulsing with life. Archie Henderson arrived in Edmonton from Barrie, Ontario in 1897 with the Klondike in his crosshairs. He planned to take the overland route north from Edmonton, not the more common sea route through Skagway, Alaska via Vancouver or Seattle.

But, as he was making his preparations, the horror stories of death and starvation along the trail started streaming back to Edmonton along with the broken souls of potential prospectors who gave up their dreams and started some new ones.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

Alberta's First Protected Historic Resource

Much like Alberta’s foremost egg collector, Archie Henderson, pioneer botanist and taxonomist George Pegg saw much more than just the crops at his homestead. An entire world of living creatures existed to the patient eye.

George’s observations of the area’s birds and cultivation of its plants left a lasting legacy on our province; a massive pressed plant collection, theoretical contributions to the field of botany, many first-time-in-Alberta findings of certain species, and the founding of a unique garden that continues to draw visitors to this day.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

Father Lacombe

There’s hardly a larger figure from Alberta’s fur trading days and early provincehood. Father Lacombe established missions and settlements, forged alliances between enemy nations, and won respect across the land.

He was born in 1827 in the Montreal area and grew up on a farm. Lacombe studied theology early in his life, but was also captivated by stories of buffalo hunts, great Indigenous nations, and the challenge of proselytizing the western part of the continent.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

Origin of the Klondike Trail (Alexander First Nation)

This episode features an interview with elders from Alexander First Nation explaining the origin of the Klondike Trail and how First Nations communities assisted gold seekers on their way north to the Yukon.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

Survey of the Klondike Trail

When word of gold put the Yukon on the map in 1897 and sent a stampede of dreamers to the Klondike, Edmonton saw its own chance at prosperity. Immediately, local merchants, the government, and the Edmonton Bulletin newspaper started promoting the easy “All-Canadian Route” to the gold fields.

The federal government hoped to keep prospectors in Canada; store owners hoped to attract business to the remote city of 1,500 people by billing Edmonton as the obvious starting point for the journey north.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

Closing the Klondike Trail

In 1911, during the annual pilgrimage to Lac Ste. Anne, a group of Cree joined the wagons of Father Lacombe and some priests on the trail west from Edmonton. The party stopped at Deadman Lake, where they spotted the deserted Klondike trail. Once bustling with life, it was now silent, no teamsters or steeds in sight.

Podcast supported by the Province of Alberta.

History Book

We have huge pride in the Wild Alberta region! Join us for a deep dive into our history. It’s perfect reading for around the camp fire.

Download the book: Historical Journey Through Wild Alberta.