Historical map highlights Edmonton's queer community and its untold stories
Edmontonians can now pick up a map and learn about the city’s queer community and its history.
The downtown map and walking tour features 27 sites of historical significance to Edmonton’s LGBTQ2S+ community.
Some of the sites include spots like Club 70, Pisces Health Spa, Womonspace, Edmonton 2 Spirit Society and Wallbridge and Imrie.
Dr. Kristopher Wells, associate professor and Canada research chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth, said the queer community has been written out of history and its official narrative for so long.
“We forget that queer people are everywhere,” he explained.
“They’re in every country, faith, religion, city in the world and we often forget that that history exists here in Edmonton as well because we don’t talk about it, because it wasn’t safe to share those stories.”
While the community shied away from expressing their authentic selves for years, Wells said many are ready to start sharing the “full story.”
“There’s been so many stories that have been erased throughout history,” Kaitlin Doble, a member of the queer community, added. “Even myself, I haven’t always been able to be proud to be part of the queer community. Now, I’m so glad I’m in a space where I can be and I feel supported.”
'IT WAS A TOUGH GO'
A long-time advocate for queer rights and former city councillor Michael Phair said it’s important for residents to know how they’ve contributed to the city.
“When I was involved with others way back when, it was a tough go,” Phair recalled.
“We had many, many people in groups that very clearly said we didn’t belong in Edmonton. I certainly did not know how far we would get.”
Phair added that a lot of us build our lives on our past history and that’s what “guides us today.”
“Making invisible history visible,” Wells added.
While this is only the beginning, the hope is that the map will be a catalyst for other communities to begin digging deeper into their past.
“We want young people to be able to learn this history,” Wells explained. “To be able to understand that the rights and the privileges that they enjoy today as queer young people were only here because of the brave and courageous people who fought for them.”
'EVERYONE’S STORY IS IMPORTANT'
The maps are free and available at all Edmonton Public Library locations, some of the historical sites on the map and the Edmonton International Airport.
“It’s important that when we’re giving that first impression that we’re showing that we’re very inclusive and we’re much more than perhaps the stereotype that people have of Alberta,” Wells said.
“Everyone's story is important, everyone’s story matters and this is just a showcasing of that,” Dobler added.
On top of the map, a podcast called From Here to Queer hosted by Darrin Hagen has also been launched with Phair as the first guest.
For more information on the Edmonton Queer History Project and the new interactive website, click here.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jessica Robb
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email
A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
President Joe Biden calls Japan and India 'xenophobic' nations that do not welcome immigrants
President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.