‘No Man’s Land’: The descendants of Saskattevan’s first black community are proud of their history

The Shilo Baptist Church, a room built from hand -cut paplar records located in a small grove near the tomb with 37 white crucifies, is a clear reminder of Saskattevan’s first black settlement.

As part of the great migration of black immigrants from the United States, the descendants of Shilo people who moved from Oklahoma to Maitstone in the early 1900s to Maitstone, were still attracted by the promise of free land and a great life.

Shilo was an ancient city and sanctuary in ancient Israel, which refers to spiritual refuge and social crowds.

“You are coming to this man’s land. You don’t know anything, people have never seen black people,” said Crystal Mayus, who was born in slavery and went to Saskatchevan with her husband, Joseph.

“You are from an agricultural background, but farming in Oklahoma is not like farming in Saskatchevan. You have to deal with winter and create a way for yourself. It took a wonderful courage, determination and bravery. ”

In the early 1900s, the increase in discrimination in the American south led to the discharge of African Americans Alberta and the nearby communities. A dozen families moved from Oklahoma to Saskatchevan for the promise of free land.

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At its peak, about 50 families lived in the area.

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Still standing in Shilo

“There was a lot of information from Canada. If you want to break it, they leave the land. They really sent two people to Saskattevan, and see if this is real,” Mayus said.

Mayus said her great grandmother was a physician and had delivered black and white children in her decades. Over time, other black families wanted the best opportunities.

“Long story short story. Families moved away.”

Mayes said that his family did not experience a lot of discrimination in Saskattevan because Matte was a physician, but there is still discrimination at the federal level.

When the migration between 1909 and 1911 reached its peak, a federal order-in-the-Counter banned black people from Canada, considering the country’s “climate and needs inappropriate”. Then it was canceled.

The first black community in Leander Lane and his grandfather Julius Caesar Lane has also written a book born in slavery.

“There was a lot of racism. The Canadian government wanted American farmers, but they did not openly did not like black peasants,” Lane said.

“The government tried to encourage them in any way, and the white people were screaming the sapphire.

Lane said that those who came to Saskatchevan may have been aware of the weather and that the task of breaking back to their farms through the bush.

The Shilo Baptist Church gained traditional post in 2018, but many people did not know about the black history of Lane.

“I won’t say this is ignored. People don’t know this. They don’t talk about it,” he said.

“I am involved with the Shilo Baptist church … And even the people in the area … I have never heard of the church I have seen.

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