Monday, January 04, 2021




IN THE HOOD
Alberta Avenue Community League working to turn park into memorial for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls

Dylan Short 

The Alberta Avenue Community League is embarking on a multi-year process to turn an unnamed park into a memorial for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

© Provided by Edmonton Journal
 Supporters of a project, including 2020 Stars of Alberta Volunteer Award winner Kathy King, centre, to turn an unnamed park near 90 Avenue and 120 Street into a memorial for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls join together for a photo in Edmonton on Dec. 31, 2020.

Liz John-West, a member of the community league, said the idea came as a City of Edmonton staff member reminded them there are several unnamed parks in the community. Upon reflection, she said the group decided to pick a park and develop it into a tribute to the women and girls from the community who have been lost.

“A lot of the women have been taken from Alberta Avenue neighbourhood,” said John-West. “It would be so neat to kind of create a place of honouring these women, at the same time kind of use this opportunity to educate the public.”

A park located near 90 Street and 121 Avenue has been tapped to be developed. It has three connecting pathways that the community league would like to incorporate into the memorial.

John-West said they are currently working with the City of Edmonton to move through the park naming process and development approvals. The park is expected to take three to five years to complete and while it is still in the earliest phases of planning, the league wants Indigenous leaders from around the community to guide the memorial.

“The other track is the naming piece and we want to gather elders together to help us to name this park,” John-West said.

The group has already begun fundraising after holding a silent auction and receiving community donations to go towards the park. John-West, who helped develop Giovanni Caboto Park, said the park could cost around $750,000 by the time it is completed.

The funds will be used to help pay artists for work featured in the park, though John-West says no decisions have been made on what art will be used.

“I thought it was just a really neat opportunity to create this awareness,” John-West said.
© Ian Kucerak Supporters of a project, including 2020 Stars of Alberta Volunteer Award winner Kathy King, centre, to turn an unnamed park near 90 Avenue and 120 Street into a memorial for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls join together for a photo in Edmonton on Dec. 31, 2020.

Neighbourhood residents have not yet been consulted on the development as it is still in the earliest phases of planning, John-West said, but the City of Edmonton has assigned a project coordinator to help guide the group through the next steps to get their approvals.

Mary-Ann Thurber, a spokeswoman with the City of Edmonton, said the process to decide on a name requires “significant public engagement” before one can be picked. She said no formal application has yet been submitted.

“While the city understands the significance of this name, and is committed to working with the community to support this project, we are still very early in the process,” said Thurber in an email.

The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls released its final report in 2019 , delivering 231 calls for justice. Many of those recommendations call for more awareness around the issue and a better understanding among Canadians of Indigenous cultures and history.

dshort@postmedia.com

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