Edna-Star Colony
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The Edna-Star colony, also called the Nebyliv colony, or the ''Ukrainian block settlement'' is the largest and oldest of the
Ukrainian Canadian Ukrainian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born people who immigrated to Canada. In the late 19th century, the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in the east coast of Canada. They were primarily farmers and l ...
block settlement A block settlement (or bloc settlement) is a particular type of land distribution which allows settlers with the same ethnicity to form small colonies. This settlement type was used throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th c ...
s. Located east of
Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, in east-central
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, the boundaries of the block settlement include all or part of multiple municipal districts, within census divisions numbers 12 and 10.


Background

A block settlement is a type of
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
found throughout
Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...
. The founding of this block settlement in 1891 marked the beginning of large-scale Ukrainian immigration to Canada. The region has been described at being as important to Ukrainian Canadian culture as
Acadiana Acadiana (; French language, French and Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane'' or ''Acadiane''), also known as Cajun Country (Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''Pays des Cadiens''), is the official name given to the ...
is to the
Cajuns The Cajuns (; Louisiana French language, French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French people, Louisiana French ethnic group, ethnicity mainly found in t ...
of Louisiana.


Founding and development

Native of Nebyliv (near Kalush) Wasyl Eleniak, while employed in the lumbering industry driving rafts down Limnytsia, heard tales from some local German colonists (West Ukraine was part of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
as the
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...
) whose relatives in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
"received 160 acres for nothing".THE HISTORY OF UKRAINIANS IN CANADA
TUGG.
The Eleniak's parents owned only 3 morgens of land and decided to check the rumors and emigrate to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The colony was founded by a group of Ukrainian settlers led by Iwan Pylypow in 1891 (although he himself did not settle permanently until the next year). Pylypow's first farm was near the present-day village of Star, Alberta, then called Edna, and the name ''Edna-Star'' was applied to the whole area retrospectively. Most of the first settlers were from Pylypow's home village of Nebyliv and the area was sometimes called the ''Nebyliv colony'' in their honour, although later settlers were from other areas of Austrian-controlled
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, namely the provinces of Galicia and
Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
. The location of the new settlement was chosen partly because of the existing Galician German settlement nearby at Josephburg. Ukrainians in Galicia were used to working with their German neighbours in the "Old Country" and many could speak some German. For new settlers, having a place to earn cash wages until their farm became productive was also extremely important, and the Germans were the logical place to turn. Another prime concern of the settlers was timber. This part of Alberta is part of the
aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of ecotone, transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area ...
biome, a relatively heavily wooded area compared to the prairies further to the south. To the surprise (and sometimes consternation) of Canadian authorities, the Ukrainians were willing to sacrifice time and effort to clear the land, and would even take lands of poor
soil quality Soil quality refers to the condition of soil based on its capacity to perform ecosystem services that meet the needs of human and non-human life.Tóth, G., Stolbovoy, V. and Montanarella, 2007. Soil Quality and Sustainability Evaluation - An integ ...
in order to secure treed land. This was because there was a severe wood shortage in Austrian Ukraine, and peasants became reliant on the ''pan'' (landlord) for the precious commodity, used in making all manner of tools and buildings. In Canada one could receive of forested (or prairie) land for free under the ''
Dominion Lands Act The ''Dominion Lands Act'' () was an 1872 Canadian law that aimed to encourage the settlement of the Canadian Prairies and to help prevent the area being claimed by the United States. The Act was closely based on the U.S. '' Homestead Act of 186 ...
''. By 1914 the zone of Ukrainian settlement stretched for from Edna-Star in the west to Slawa in the east and approximately from Smoky Lake in the north to the outskirts of
Mundare Mundare is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately east of Edmonton at the intersection of Alberta Highway 15, Highway 15 and Alberta Highway 855, Highway 855, north of the Yellowhead Highway. The Canadian National Railway tracks ...
and Vegreville in the south. Many of the non-Ukrainian immigrants to the area, also came from the Austrian crownlands of Galicia and
Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
where the Ukrainians originated. These included Poles, Romanians, Germans, and Jews.


Recent demographics

Today the area known as the Kalyna Country
ecomuseum An ecomuseum is a museum focused on the identity of a place, largely based on local participation and aiming to enhance the welfare and development of local community, local communities. Ecomuseums originated in France, the concept being develop ...
, which preserves and showcases Ukrainian Canadian culture. It is also home to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village which contains pioneer buildings from all across the area. At one time within the boundaries of the settlement block, up to 80% of the population was of Ukrainian origin. However, internal migration within Canada has changed the patterns. As well, since Statistics Canada has allowed people to claim "Canadian" as an ethnic origin only since 2001, figures are not comparable before and after that date. According to the 2006 Census, in Alberta census division 10 there were 6,700 people who claimed to be single-origin Ukrainian (the largest of any ethnic group, excluding "Canadian") and 17,130 people who claimed some Ukrainian origin out of a total population of 85,155, giving approximately 20% of the population. In Division 12 there were 3,575 who claimed to be Ukrainian single-origin and 11,220 total claiming some Ukrainian origin out of 59,305, for around 19% of the population. Ethnic origin statistics are not available for many of the municipalities with the most concentrated Ukrainian populations, because
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
does not publish this information for communities with a total population of less than 5,000 for privacy reasons. Rural-to-urban migration has reduced the populations of Lamont County,
Thorhild County Thorhild County is a municipal district located in the central part of northern Alberta, Canada, in Census Division 13. It was incorporated in 1955. It changed its name from the ''County of Thorhild No. 7'' to ''Thorhild County'' on March 20, ...
, the County of Two Hills No. 21, and the County of Minburn No. 27 below this threshold. The counties for which there are statistics that have the highest proportions of total respondents claiming some Ukrainian origin are the County of St. Paul No. 19 (26%),
Sturgeon County Sturgeon County is a municipal district in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is north of Edmonton and west of the North Saskatchewan River. Sturgeon County is located in Division No. 11 and was named for the Sturgeon Rive ...
(18%), Beaver County (16%), the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 (17%), and the
County of Vermilion River The County of Vermilion River is a municipal district located in the eastern part of central Alberta, Canada in Census Division No. 10. The municipal district was formerly named the County of Vermilion River No. 24 prior to an official name ...
(16%).
Other than Ukrainians, the largest responses in this area are French (especially near Bonnyville and St. Paul), German (especially near Josephburg), Native Indian, and Metis, with smaller number of English, Scottish, and Irish, and some Romanian, Polish, Russian, Jewish, and Norwegian. In the three largest towns in the region the percentage of the population claiming some Ukrainian origin were: Vegreville 44%, (5,720) St. Paul, 31%, and Bonnyville, 18%. Other towns and villages thought to have large Ukrainian populations include Myrnam, Willingdon, Lamont,
Mundare Mundare is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately east of Edmonton at the intersection of Alberta Highway 15, Highway 15 and Alberta Highway 855, Highway 855, north of the Yellowhead Highway. The Canadian National Railway tracks ...
,
Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...
, Chipman, plus numerous hamlets and rural communities.


References

{{Subdivisions of Alberta Geography of Alberta Ethnic enclaves in Canada Lamont County Ukrainian-Canadian culture in Alberta