Now more than ever, we need ways to examine our collective history of colonization in order to respond to racism, exclusion and narrow views of belonging. The Paint the Rails book and supplementary resource site offers an opportunity to learn about identity and belonging at a local level through lived experience and cultural wisdom. Paint the Rails represents a vision of a shared future based on dignity, respect, and honest reflection on the truths of our history.
Purpose of this Teacher Resource
This resource was created to complement the Paint the Rails book and deepen the knowledge of the many histories, experiences and identities that make up the people of amiskwaciwâskahikan. An important part of this project is about encouraging community engagement and intercultural dialogue; learning each other’s stories so we can take action to support and collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds to build relationships and understanding.
These activities open a pathway to conversations and nuanced understandings of Canadian history, local impacts, systemic racism and community resilience.
What is Paint the Rails?
Starting in 2017, Paint the Rails began as a project to create public spaces of Edmonton’s diverse and underrepresented cultural history through conversation and public art.
Conversations on colonization, reclamation and reconciliation guided the creation of public murals with augmented reality (AR) components in Edmonton’s five transit stations:
1) Returning Home (Churchill Station)
2) River (University Station)
3) Stories that Weave Us (Kingsway Station)
4) Strong as a Forest (Corona Station)
5) Fabric of Our City (Clareview Station)
Important education for community members on Edmonton’s complex and rich history came from this project. The book shares the depth of the history of our city and communities within and is rich with information for ongoing reflection, learning and dialogue.
The Paint the Rails book is an educational resource for all ages but especially for the younger generation. We believe in the importance of centering lived-experiences and the power of communities to tell their own stories and lead their own teachings.
Each page in this book offers a unique opportunity to learn important points about Edmonton’s diverse stories of settlement and to engage students in learning and discussion.
Each section has a "Did You Know" piece that can spark space for students to learn more and do further research. Each chapter of the book includes a timeline of historical events which have shaped the experiences of the communities featured in both the murals and book. The book in and of itself is a beautiful teaching tool and we hope this teacher resource provides you other entry points of learning with your students that contribute to equity, inclusion, acceptance and anti-racism.
Colouring Book
The Paint the Rails colouring book was created by the lead artists AJA Louden and Carla Taylor. The artwork featured in these pages comes from five different public murals located throughout Edmonton LRT stations telling the stories of diverse community members that call Edmonton - amiskwaciwâskahikan (beaver hills house) - home. It features elements from each mural and tells the story behind the image.
To download the book, click here.
Augmented Reality App
Technology is one of the tools that is helping us stay connected and informed. The Paint the Rails App was created to help bring the murals to life through augmented reality. This free, downloadable app encourages viewer participation and further learning about our rich local history.
View the full murals virtually on your device to get the full meaning behind each mural and see how the murals ‘come alive.’ Throughout the book, scan codes are provided to engage you further in learning about the intricate stories behind the murals. Encourage students to connect with the mural more through this app and then create space for discussion to talk about what it means to them.
While using the App with the book resource is one way of using this tool with students, we encourage teachers to consider getting out into the city and riding the rails with their students to learn history in the field!