ATHABASCA, BARRHEAD — It’s recognition for telling the stories that never get told, the history never written down, that led to a career now honoured with a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award.
Cheryl Foggo is descended from Black settlers who came to Canada in 1910 and has familial ties to Amber Valley east of Athabasca and Campsie west of Barrhead. Her uncle Andrew Risby was born in Campsie and there is a plaque in his honour at the cemetery east of Thunder Lake. She also rode her first horse at the age of six in Amber Valley under her great uncle Rufus 'Buster' Smith's eye.
Although born and raised in Calgary, Foggo spent many happy hours on her great aunt Drusilla Whittaker's farm in the Amber Valley area, and took many of the stories she heard from family members, as well as those she had experienced herself, and used them to create much of the work she is now being recognized for by the Lieutenant Governor.
“I was such a voracious reader as a kid; I spent most of my waking hours reading when I wasn't in school or eating or doing chores or out playing,” Foggo said in a June 23 interview. "I was so hungry to see myself reflected in those books, and I didn't.”
Those books would have racist depictions of Black people or no Black people at all which led her to write a series of young adult books and a memoir – Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West – about growing up Black on the predominantly Caucasian prairies.
“So, it really, I think, comes as no surprise that one of the things I wanted to do as a writer was write the books that were absent for me and have there be that presence in the library or on the school bookshelf for young people who are like me – young, Black folks living in this part of the world – who love to read and would really like to see themselves in books. It was a combination of trying to fill the hole that existed in my young life as a reader and trying to have options available for other young people.”
Beyond books, Foggo’s body of work includes writing for two seasons on the popular 90s TV show North of 60, and writing plays and documentaries. Her most recent documentary, called John Ware Revisited, is the story of a Black cowboy from southern Alberta – a story she discovered in her twenties.
“I was fascinated by horses and cowboy mythology and I was deeply attached to this land and landscape of southern Alberta,” she said. “So, when I learned about him, I felt that he was also connected to all of those things as well. And that he was also a person of African descent made me feel even more connected to the history of cowboys and horses.”
Before John Ware though, Foggo also researched and wrote the stories of Black people that would have been lost to history like Charles Daniels who was denied access to his paid-for assigned seat at a theatre in Calgary in 1914 and sued for discrimination – there were no segregation laws in Canada, but it was common practice for many businesses to have ‘whites only’ areas, and Daniels refused to sit in the balcony.
“It actually wasn't until I read the (court) transcripts for myself that I understood that we had all prior to that misunderstood the outcome of the case, because up until then everyone still believed that Charles Daniels had won that court case, when in fact he had not,” said Foggo.
It was based on all of her work that Foggo’s longtime friend Frances Wright put her name forward for recognition; the other people selected this year are Faye Heavyshield and Vicki Adams Willis.
“Vicki Willis is a friend of mine going back a long way and we collaborated on a few projects and I had no idea that she had been nominated. Of course, you don't know who else was nominated or who else wins until they make the public announcement so I was delighted about that and then so happy to be introduced to the work of Faye Heavyshield and she's just phenomenal,” she said. “So, I'm thrilled to be in their company.”
Starting in 2005, and every second year since, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta chooses up to three people for the Distinguished Artist Award to recognize outstanding achievement in the arts in some form or another like architect Douglas Cardinal, known for his nature-inspired, undulating designs like the Grande Prairie Regional College or Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. Cardinal was one of the first two honourees.
Foggo was aware she had been nominated by Wright, but when the call came, she wasn’t sure what the news would be.
“As soon as (she) said she was from the office of the Lieutenant Governor I had an inkling of why she was calling so it was a little bit of heart pounding,” said Foggo. “I felt just so honoured. I think an artist wants to know that their work resonates in the community where they live and I felt it is quite validating to be selected for an award like this.”
The Honourable Salma Lakhani Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, will present the awards at a celebration hosted by Lac La Biche and the Portage College Lac La Biche campus, at an event June 10 and 11, 2022. Each honouree receives $30,000, a hand-cast medal and a framed citation.
“I had a really wonderful chat with the Lieutenant Governor (June 22)," said Foggo. “And we have so much in common and so much to chat about. I just really appreciated her wanting to take the time to speak to me directly and offer her congratulations and we had a really good chat which reminded me of how we are all connected in Alberta.”
