B次元官网网址淢y name is Vant Hayes and IB次元官网网址檓 the only Black one left out here.B次元官网网址�

Hayes, who says heB次元官网网址檚 88 years old or B次元官网网址渟omewhere around there,B次元官网网址� represents the end of an era in the village of Breton, 110 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.

His grandparents William and Mollie Hayes and their children moved to the area from Oklahoma in the early 1900s as part of the Great Migration of Black settlers from the United States, lured by the promise of free land and a better life.

An increase in discrimination in the southern U.S. in the early 1900s led to an exodus of African Americans to four tiny communities in Alberta. Breton, originally known as Keystone, was one.

Most of the descendants of the original 54 families have moved on, but Hayes remains.

B次元官网网址淵ou would get a quarter (section), but you had to clear 10 acres on it before you could get the title. I guess that was one reason they migrated here. Another one was in the States. It was bad down there,B次元官网网址� he said.

The migration hit its peak between 1909 to 1911. A federal order-in-council in 1911 barred Black people from Canada because they were B次元官网网址渄eemed unsuitable to the climate and requirementsB次元官网网址� of the country, but it was repealed later that year.

HayesB次元官网网址� parents, Floyd and Elizabeth, moved their 10 children briefly to Kelowna, B.C., to find work, but returned to the homestead after the father died.

B次元官网网址淚t was tough. You try and look after 10 kids. You gotta figure out how youB次元官网网址檙e going to feed them today and the next day and we made it through,B次元官网网址� Hayes said.

B次元官网网址淲e ate a lot of eggs B次元官网网址� a lot of chicken too,B次元官网网址� he added with a laugh.

But Hayes said despite the new surroundings, his mother never got over the treatment she received in Oklahoma.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of people had moved up from the States and they figured this was the same as the States. My mother always carried a .43 Mauser rifle in the wagon with her. It was just for protection,B次元官网网址� said Hayes.

B次元官网网址淥ne guy came riding up on this big horse and he started yelling at her and calling her names. She came back with this big .43 Mauser and said: B次元官网网址業f you donB次元官网网址檛 get out of my yard right now, IB次元官网网址檓 going to shoot the horse and when youB次元官网网址檙e running IB次元官网网址檓 going to shoot you, too.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎fter that, he was real nice,B次元官网网址� he added with a chuckle.

Hayes spent years working on oil rigs but always came back to the farm. He hopes one of his granddaughters will carry on the family legacy.

HeB次元官网网址檚 worried about the local history disappearing when he dies.

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e not going to have this Black history,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not going to go on forever.B次元官网网址�

Brandy FredricksonB次元官网网址檚 great, great grandparents Sam and Neoma Hooks moved with their four children from Sharpes, Okla., in 1911.

She said remembering the areaB次元官网网址檚 past is important because B次元官网网址測ou lose those shreds of historyB次元官网网址� as older people pass away.

B次元官网网址淚 know weB次元官网网址檙e fifth and my kids are sixth generation,B次元官网网址� she said, wiping away tears. B次元官网网址淭o me, itB次元官网网址檚 to know where they came from.B次元官网网址�

Allan Goddard, the curator of the Breton and District Historical Museum, grew up nearby but wasnB次元官网网址檛 aware of the areaB次元官网网址檚 Black history.

He said some early homestead records had Black landownersB次元官网网址� race specified as their nationality in the corner of the page, which was not the case for white ones.

B次元官网网址淭hey were Americans. That was quite eye-opening to me,B次元官网网址� said Goddard. B次元官网网址淲ere they being identified to send them to a certain area or were they being identified just based on colour?B次元官网网址�

The community has Black History Month gatherings each year. The original cemetery was mostly forgotten but now a giant rock with a brass plaque pays tribute to the 27 people identified as being buried there.

Three tombstones were visible under a deep blanket of snow on a cold and foggy January day.

B次元官网网址淥ur apologies for those we have missedB次元官网网址�, reads the plaque.

Goddard said when the snow is gone, a few indentations where people may be buried are visible.

B次元官网网址淚 was asked quite a few years ago, about the residential schools and this ground penetrating radar stuff,B次元官网网址� Goddard said, referring to searches for possible unmarked graves being undertaken at many former residential school sites across Canada.

B次元官网网址淭hat was probably pretty high-tech at that time and I said, B次元官网网址榳ell theyB次元官网网址檙e there, theyB次元官网网址檙e at peace,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淢aybe we leave it at that.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擝ill Graveland, The Canadian Press