Mural Project Acknowledgements

Project Recognition

The Blackfalds & Area Historical Society gratefully acknowledges Wolf Creek Public Schools for providing a permanent home for this remarkable mural in the Iron Ridge Secondary Campus foyer, where it will be appreciated for generations to come.

Artwork Details

Title: "The Trails That Tie Us Together"
Location: Iron Ridge Secondary Campus Foyer

This large (95 ‘ by 10 ‘) mural was funded by the Blackfalds & Area Historical Society, who gifted it to the Wolf Creek School District for the new Blackfalds high school. The mural is a multi-media artwork that depicts significant pre 1910 historical aspects of the local area, covering early trails, explorers, missionaries, Metis and Indigenous peoples, and their lives and pursuits.

This mural has a background of painted landscape reflecting the local area in the late 1800s with a painted depiction of the local pathways and the Blindman River. There are 9 paintings on wood forms with flora and fauna; 5 low relief clay sculpture vignettes of Arthur D. Gregson, a Red River cart, the Whitford Stopping House, a bison and the Blindman River dam; and 3 glass mosaic tile pieces of a black swallowtail butterfly, a Metis sash and moccasins.

Creative Team

Lead Artists:

Voyager Art Inc.

Dawn Detarando & Brian McArthur

Red Deer County

Project Contributors

Research & Development:

• Judy Carleton - President, Blackfalds & Area Historical Society
• Matt Hiltermann - Métis historian
• Trisha Carleton, MA - Curator

Special Acknowledgements

The Blackfalds & Area Historical Society extends special thanks to:

• The Red Deer River Naturalists for their generous project donation
• Julia Sansregrets, whose Métis beadwork collection provided artistic inspiration

Unveiling Ceremony

The mural was officially unveiled during the opening of Iron Ridge Secondary Campus on September 3, 2024. The ceremony brought together students, faculty, Indigenous Elders, local officials, historical society members, and community guests.