In John Ware Reclaimed, Cheryl Foggo re-examines the story of John Ware, the Black cowboy who settled in Alberta in the 19th century.
Throughout this film, Foggo explores the life of John Ware and teaches an incredibly important lesson about history.
While Ware’s story is undoubtedly undertold, when it was told, it often contained derogatory and dehumanizing depictions of John Ware. This theme was perpetuated even by the most “aware” writers.
“One of the main sources of information is John Ware’s Cow Country, which was written by Grant MacEwan,” Says Foggo. “It’s valuable in many ways — there’d be even less conversation about Ware if MacEwan hadn’t written it — but it has its blind spots and problems.”
When the history books are all we have, it’s so easy to believe what has been told about our people. But Foggo’s work to reclaim John Ware is a reminder that not only is it okay to challenge our history books, it’s necessary.
Foggo’s efforts to uncover the true story of John Ware not only strengthen Canadian Black history, but also hold the power to strengthen feelings of belonging and identity as well.
Black Canadians often get left out when it comes to Black history, but artists like Foggo are changing that.
“On one hand we were highly visible — there weren’t many people who looked like us — yet at the same time we were invisible,” says Foggo. “Our achievements and our struggles were simply not documented, and John Ware’s story also embodied both these aspects.”
Foggo transports viewers to a historic Alberta and brings humanity to the story of John Ware. It is a reminder that Black Canadians have always existed beyond history’s narrow conceptualization of Blackness.
“They’re not aware of the struggles and the obstacles we’ve faced in our attempt to find a place where we can express our full humanity, where we can achieve our full potential as individuals and communities,” says Foggo.
Stories like John Ware Reclaimed are the ones we need to be telling. Canadian Black history and Albertan Black history needs to be reclaimed and told much more frequently.
“If you accept that Alberta has played an important role in forging Canadian identity, then Ware is a figure of national significance.”
John Ware Reclaimed is available here for streaming in Canada