“Haven’t you heard … that Alberta is the Texas of Canada?”  I laughed, as it was the first time I had heard this – a gender queer person I was meeting with on my first full day back in Edmonton filled me in.   After living in Texas for 8 years, that state has a warm spot in my heart … despite the politics.   I puzzled for a moment as I hadn’t felt any Texas nostalgia in any of these trips – the farms and grain silos had given me more of a MidWest vibe.  Despite being on my fourth road trip through Alberta, I had never familiarized myself with Canadian politics. 

A few more people over my stay here brought up this nickname as well, and I learned it wasn’t simply drawing parallels between the economic backbones of these two regions that were heavily reliant on agriculture and oil industries.  The province is also particularly known for its conversative and separationist political stances.   In more recent months and years, waves of anti-2SLGBTQ+ sentiments have also taken alarming hold in the legislation of Canada’s Prairie Provinces. 

Don’t Assume Urban Means Queer Safety

My first few hours back in Edmonton were in a place that felt incredibly safe to me – a gym owned by a transgender person and staffed by many 2SLGBTQ+ individuals.  In my road trip haze, I quickly tried to wrap my mind around the gym owner telling me how hostile Alberta’s central urban hub could be.   Despite the huge range of gender experiences I was learning about in all settings, I still held notions of cities generally being safer havens for queer people.  Perhaps safety in numbers does help, but more urban doesn’t always mean safer.  

This business owner talked about people leaving handwritten threats in their mailbox … with NO stamp.  They were rattled that not only did these hateful individuals know where they lived, but they took the time to drive to their house, and step onto their property to deliver the threat.  They had opted not to attend counterprotests to the large scale, organized protests against 2SLGBTQ rights that had been held in Edmonton the week before.  It didn’t feel physically safe, and they knew from experience being a higher profile, transgender community member that they were not safe from harassment here.   

Two people I met later in my stay described their experience of attending those counterprotests, and indeed did not feel safe.  They described their anxiety rising as a large crowd of hundreds, likely thousands of angry people, closed in on them from three sides.  The thin line of police wrapping a ring around the small group of queer folks and their allies showing up didn’t sound like enough comfort. 

My first morning in Edmonton, I treated myself to a haircut, a real bed, and a couple hot meals after two weeks of very frugal road trip travel.  At a shopping plaza in the middle of the city, I told a hairdresser how great the fresh head shave felt as I rubbed my naked scalp with pleasure.  I heard a man let out a disgusted scoff a couple feet behind me, and turned to see a middle aged man glaring daggers into the back of my head.  “Righhht… euh… ” he turned up his level of facial repulsion even more, as if a female’s naked scalp were wildly offensive.  I shrugged it off, but still held some surprise that I was having this encounter in a trendy looking neighborhood of one of central Canada’s largest cities. 

Someone I met with later that day had been verbally harassed for their nonconforming appearance the week before while they were riding the bus.   It was a regular occurrence for them, but the last round of public verbal harassment from a group of young men sounded volatile and rattled them, so they opted to meet me at a coffee shop wearing minimal make-up to avoid further threats.  We ended up taking photos at their home, so they had a safe space to present themself as they wanted to be seen.  

2SLGBTQ+ experiences in any region are far from uniform, so, of course I also met people who were able to consistently live more peaceful queer existences in Edmonton.   I asked one person about his experiences training in a traditionally male-dominated trade as a transgender person.  “Oh, it hasn’t been too hard … I just blend in as one of the guys…”  They weren’t really hiding, but also weren’t visibly “out” and understandably found their social safety in this potentially challenging environment by “passing” as a cisgendered man. 

Why share the less joyful stuff from communities I’ve had the opportunity to visit?  Well, it’s real, and I’m a realist.  A lot of wonderful people have commented on how much queer joy and trans joy projects like All the Genders are bringing to the world.   My intent is to show that joy and beauty in people’s different experiences of gender.  I also don’t want to ignore the ugly that can be intertwined with this joy, because ignoring it in favor of rainbow washing alone won’t protect and progress our human rights either.  So, like anywhere else I’ve been visiting, I want to talk about the good and the bad.   I loved meeting everyone here, will also share what I loved about visiting this city that some of these same queer people have so much passion and love for. 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

I told a new Canadian friend with slight embarrassment that I had only heard of Canada’s Residential Schools and their horrific history when I listened to a random podcast news feature a couple years ago. The podcast concluded and I found myself bawling my eyes out, then researching as much as I could to learn more.  It’s an abhorrent part of recent North American history that is so huge and was still happening in my short lifetime.   I grew up just over 100 miles south of the Canadian border in an area influenced by French-Canadian heritage, and yet knew almost nothing about the recent history of Indigenous people in this massive country.  I recalled my parents describing Canada as a place that was disgustingly progressive – a country full of liberal … umm… “wackjobs,” as they put it (I’m honestly not sure how we’re related!), so in my younger worldview couldn’t imagine such severe subjugation of any people in Canada.

My new Canadian friend told me not to worry about my lack of knowledge; as a white person in their late 20’s they never even recalled learning about this important piece of Canadian history in Alberta’s public school system.   For many, these tortured pieces of history that have shaped and damaged Canada’s social landscape and cultures have only made it into Canada’s public spheres of discussion in recent years.  So, if you’re a fellow American (or any other nationality really!) who is as ignorant to Canada’s history as I was (and really still am), then join me for a quick history lesson!   

So, what are residential schools?  They have an innocuous sounding name, but are far from innocuous.  Residential schools were government sponsored religious schools designed to systematically eradicate and wipe out Indigenous cultures of Canada.   To put it more nicely, the schools intended to convert and assimilate Indigenous youth into Euro-Canadian culture.  Around the 1880’s the residential school system started to become a more systematic and national set of establishments.  

Children were taken away from their families, often forcibly.  They were isolated from their parents, and often siblings for years.  Upon arriving at the schools, their native clothing was confiscated, their Indigenous spiritual traditions denigrated, and were punished for speaking their native languages.  Child labor supported operating expenses of the schools. 

Sexual abuse was rampant in these schools.  More than 6,000 children died.  Some died due to malnutrition, disease and overcrowding, and others simply disappeared from this world without a record of their existence, making that 6,000 number pretty fuzzy and probably underestimated.   

As I learned about the schools, I thought these institutions in a now First World country couldn’t have lasted long into the 20^th century.   Wrong again, very wrong.  The last residential school did not close until 1996 in Saskatchewan.   There are a number of complexities that led to schools being open so long and these schools still live on through economic disparities and discriminatory practices in Canada. In the last few years, archeologists have made new discoveries of more than 2000 unmarked graves at the sites of former schools, further deepening the wounds in these communities.

As I kicked off my time in Alberta, I felt the heaviness of this history as I learned more and heard testimonies of Survivors.  Alberta also happened to be a past home to the largest number of residential schools.  My first day in Edmonton also fell on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federal holiday only established a few years ago to honor both Survivors and the children who never came home.   Public radio stations hosted survivors and children of victims and Survivors who shared their heart wrenching stories.  

My first stop in Edmonton was to visit a couple of queer business owners who were hosting training for their fitness staff.   Even this training tied directly into the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.  The owners had invited two Indigenous, Two-Spirit identifying gym members to share their story with the small group.   The owners told me the evening might last awhile, so let me know I shouldn’t feel pressured to stay after the long day’s drive. Once their guest speakers began, I was asked not to interrupt by leaving or entering the room though, so I opted to stay. 

I would soon find that the tradition of giving Survivors and family members space to relay their stories was not restricted to the radio broadcasts, as the staff made space for their members to share their stories.   They shared their stories at their own pace, taking their time to reprocess both lived trauma and intergenerational trauma again, now with a small group who collectively absorbed their emotions in silence.  Everyone in the room seemed to come together in a quiet acknowledgement of the damage still being done and divisions that still exist, while simultaneously bridging those divides.  Their testimonies were powerful, and another small step towards reconciliation of this hard history that is in many ways not yet history. 

The Lighter Stuff in my Edmonton Travels

Other than 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination, Indigenous oppression, and the highest number of residential schools in Canadian history, what are some of the more fun things that Alberta and its central city of Edmonton known for?   When I asked new acquaintances what Edmonton was known for, they initially gave me a blank look, then after a moment of thought would conclude with the West Edmonton Mall.  Super malls aren’t really my thing, even ones with a waterpark inside.  They feel large and overwhelming to me, so decided to search for other gems. 

I did find that Edmonton has the highest number of Donair shops per capita than anywhere else in Canada. Unfortunately, I had a tough time finding a gluten free version of the pita with shaved meat that originated in Halifax.   Instead, I hit up the Remedy Coffee shop locations perhaps too many times on my light budget.  Each location in the chain had a unique vibe and mixed Indian food with house made chai lattes and gluten free pastries.  All my guilty pleasures rolled into one! 

Edmonton also claims to have the longest interconnected series of parks/greenways than any other city in Canada.  I ended up spending a good chunk of time both exploring and photographing people along these beautiful stretches next to the Saskatchewan River.   I paid a visit to the grand Muttart Conservatory, and a small Indigenous art park that was more hidden away along the same trailway stretches. 

Last Thoughts for Now

Many of the queer people I met with in Edmonton clearly had a love for their city, despite all the complexities that can come with being queer in this region.  For me, it was mostly going to be a place to rest on my way home, but this city on the prairie ended up being much more than just another stop.  A couple quick, last minute posts to queer Facebook groups a few days before getting to town caught me off guard with a strong response from queer Albertans who were feeling rocked and dismayed by the large show of protests against their existence.   I walked away feeling like I had made new friends, gained new perspectives regarding Indigenous and queer issues here, and checked my own assumptions regarding what queer experiences look like in urban settings. 

Thank you for being here on these QueerVentures with me! For more in Edmonton, see what local business owners are doing to create queer-inclusive fitness spaces, or head another 5 hours southeast, to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan!