The Traditional Burial Ground and Old Fort Edmonton Cemetery, or Rossdale Memorial as it is more commonly known, marks a significant point of time in Edmonton’s history.  Located immediately west of the Rossdale EPCOR Water Treatment Plant, it is the land where the city’s fur trade began and is symbolic of a crossroads in the city’s culture, marked by a once-forgotten and desecrated sacred native burial ground.  The building of the Memorial recognizes the sacred nature of the grounds and begins the healing of the pain, frustration and many decades of mistrust felt by the ancestors of those buried there.

Three years of a very difficult and complicated design process began in August 2003, when the architect team held the first of a dozen workshops to plan the design of the site with the City of Edmonton, EPCOR, descendants, stakeholders and community volunteers, including people of First Nations, French Canadian, Métis and European ancestry. After numerous delays and the desecration of human remains with past developments, there was an understandable level of mistrust of authority. The first six months of the design process were spent building relationships and earning the trust and confidence of the group.  

Ultimately, the architect design team was able to meet all the many rules, regulations and protocols involved with building the Memorial to create a solution that earned the enthusiastic approval of the many diverse parties involved. The final product incorporates design elements that reflect the values and the cultural heritage of the individuals who are buried at the site.

The Rossdale Memorial was officially unveiled on July 10th, 2007.