Long before the Alberta Legislature rose above the river valley, this place was a gathering ground for Indigenous Nations who travelled the river routes to trade, share knowledge, and sustain community.
Perched on the high bank overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, the Alberta Legislature grounds sit atop the final site of historic Fort Edmonton (1830–1915), once the Hudson’s Bay Company’s most important fur-trading post in the region. Established to escape flooding on the river flats, it became a point of exchange between the Hudson’s Bay Company and the many First Peoples whose skill, trade networks, and knowledge of the land made its existence possible.
From these riverbank meeting places grew the city and, eventually, the provincial seat of government. Today, markers on the Legislature grounds trace where the fort once stood, on land that continues to hold deep cultural, spiritual, and historical meaning for the Indigenous peoples who have always called it home.
