Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia and Edukits

Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia


About Us

The Project

The People of the Boreal Forest Edukit Website is the final project of a series of Alberta Aboriginal Centennial initiative begun in 2005. This involved historian and land use mapping specialist Terry Garvin, the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada, and the Heritage Community Foundation. Projects included publication of the Carving Faces, Carving Lives: People of the Boreal Forest book and poster series, and development of the People of the Boreal Forest Website.

The Carving Faces: People of the Boreal Forest Edukit is a companion to the website and was developed by the Heritage Community Foundation, a charitable trust with the mandate to link people with heritage through discovery and learning. The Foundation developed and maintains Albertasource.ca - the Alberta Online Encyclopedia. The Edukit is the 80th website on, Albertasource.ca.

Heritage Community Foundation

The Heritage Community Foundation is a charitable Trust (Charitable Number: 87082 2541 RR0001) committed to connecting people with heritage. As a new kind of community foundation, it is not bounded by geography but based on interest in the value of heritage for individuals, their communities and society.

The Foundation has received recognition for its state-of-the-art programs involving new technology and experiential learning. Working collaboratively with public and private-sector partners, the Foundation seeks support not only for its own flagship programs but also for those of partners and stakeholders at the local, regional, provincial and national levels.

The Foundation's goal is for heritage to be valued by everyone. Heritage is broadly defined in all its aspects - historical, natural, cultural, scientific and technological. The Foundation exists:

  • To be a strong public voice for heritage
  • To build individual and community identity and pride through research, public education and youth programs
  • To build resources to sustain heritage institutions, organizations and related projects and activities.

The Heritage Community Foundation has the following primary areas of interest based on its charitable objects: Educational Resource Creation, Research, Digital Technology and Experiential Learning. All programs link people with place, stories, objects, landscapes, traditions-all of those aspects that define us as individuals and communities.

Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada

The Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada (Cree for Rocky Mountain People) was formalized in September, 1994 when the six Aboriginal settlements that surrounded the town of Grande Cache, Alberta, joined together to have a collective presence and voice. In 2001, the Nation became the representative body of more than 400 individual members, and the corporate members of Cooperatives and Enterprises. They have three primary objectives:

  • Identifying social, cultural, educational, economical and recreational needs, and initiating community action to respond to those needs
  • Promoting and enhancing community participation
  • Promoting better understanding and relations between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people
About the Author - Terry Garvin

Terry Garvin, over the past 50 years, has maintained a keen interest in the Boreal Forest. This began with his service as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, then, working for various Aboriginal organizations and, finally, involved in the first-generation of traditional use studies. This involved working closely with many of the communities in the Boreal Forest. Over time, he developed a strong relationship with the Aboriginal Peoples.



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            For more on Aboriginal hunters and trappers in Canada’s northwest Boreal forest, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.

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