John CarleR E A L T O RHomes & Gardens Real Estate Limited
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October 13, 2026 · 5 min read

St. Albert Indigenous and Métis Heritage: History and Places to Learn

St. Albert's Indigenous and Métis history, from Payhonin and the Métis families who built the 1861 mission to the Youville school and the Healing Garden today.

JC
John Carle
The Sturgeon River in St. Albert along the Red Willow Trail

The Quick Answer

St. Albert is on Treaty 6 territory, the traditional lands of First Nations and Métis peoples, and the homeland of the Métis people of Alberta. First Nations used the Sturgeon River valley for thousands of years, and the Cree called it Payhonin, a gathering place. Métis families built the 1861 mission that grew into the city. That history also includes the St. Albert (Youville) Residential School, which operated from 1873 to 1948. Today you can learn more at the Musée Héritage Museum and reflect at Kâkesimokamik, the St. Albert Healing Garden.

I'm John Carle, a REALTOR with Homes & Gardens Real Estate Limited, and I've been selling homes in St. Albert since 1999. I think everyone who owns a home here should know this part of our city's story.

On this page

Who lived here before the mission?

First Nations peoples lived here long before 1861. The Musée Héritage Museum says the river valleys of this region have provided food, resources and transportation routes for roughly 5,000 years. The Cree called the Sturgeon River nii-koo-oo-pum, the Red Willow River. Archaeologists have found campsites, bison kill sites and stone tool workshops near the river and Big Lake.

The City of St. Albert says First Nations people called the valley Payhonin, a Cree word for a gathering place. Nehiyaw (Cree) stories describe places along the Sturgeon River and nearby lakes where people stopped to rest and camp, and that they used as landmarks on their travels.

What role did the Métis play in founding St. Albert?

A central one. Métis families were already living along the Sturgeon River when Father Albert Lacombe opened the mission in 1861, and more came with him from Lac Ste. Anne. According to the Government of Alberta's Father Lacombe Chapel history, the St. Albert Métis built the first buildings. Their work as hunters, freighters, guides and labourers kept the young mission going.

Land was divided into river lots, long narrow strips running back from the river. The system was common in Métis and French-Canadian communities. Families combined farming with the buffalo hunt. By 1870 St. Albert had about 1,000 residents, most of them Métis. In 1884, when the federal survey threatened to replace the river lots with square grids, local people lobbied Ottawa and kept them.

You can still see this history at St. Albert's Historic River Lots site on Meadowview Drive, run by the Musée Héritage Museum. Several St. Albert streets are named after Métis families.

What is the harder part of this history?

The St. Albert Residential School, later called Youville, operated from 1873 to 1948. It grew out of a mission school for Métis children and was run by the Grey Nuns with federal funding. Many Métis and First Nations children attended. Survivors have spoken publicly about being separated from their families, harsh discipline and the suppression of their languages and cultures. In 2015 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission described the residential school system as cultural genocide.

An honest history of St. Albert includes both the community that was built here and the harm that was done.

Where can you learn and reflect today?

  • Kâkesimokamik, the St. Albert Healing Garden. It opened in 2017 on the north side of the Sturgeon River, across from St. Albert Place along the Red Willow Trail. It honours survivors of residential schools. A committee of survivors, First Nations and Métis representatives, the United and Catholic churches, community members and the City planned it.
  • Musée Héritage Museum in St. Albert Place, 5 St. Anne Street. Admission is free. Its History Gallery covers residential schools and the history of the mission, and it hosts events during Métis Week each November.
  • St. Albert's Historic River Lots on Meadowview Drive, open seasonally from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
  • Father Lacombe Chapel on Mission Hill, a provincial historic site.
  • National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 each year, a day to celebrate First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultures.

Key takeaways

  • St. Albert is on Treaty 6 territory and is the homeland of the Métis people of Alberta.
  • People have used the Sturgeon River valley for about 5,000 years. The Cree called it Payhonin, a gathering place.
  • Métis families built the 1861 mission and farmed the river lots.
  • The St. Albert (Youville) Residential School operated here from 1873 to 1948.
  • The Healing Garden, the Musée Héritage Museum and the River Lots site are all good places to learn.

If you're new to St. Albert, a walk along the Red Willow Trail past the Healing Garden is a good place to start getting to know your city.

Just Call John. 780-937-7534

References

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