Our Story
BEARBERRY ROOTS
Whiskey Creek Bees operates on Treaty 7 land, the traditional territories of the Îethka Nakoda Nation, comprised of the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations, who have deep historical ties to the Bearberry Valley. We acknowledge the Siksikáítapiiksi (Blackfoot Confederacy), Káínawa (Kainai), and Aapátohsipikáni (Northern Piikani) Nations; the Tsuut'ina Nation; and the Métis Nation of Alberta, as well as the Nehiyaw (Cree), Dëne Sųłiné (Dene), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux) peoples whose histories and relationships extend across this region and the Treaty 6 and 7 areas. These lands have been home to First Nations since time immemorial, long before our family arrived in Bearberry. We honour the families who cared for this land first. Understanding where we live, who lived here first, and what agreements were made is an important part of the Truth and Reconciliation journey.
Whiskey Creek Bees is the continuation of a story that began more than a century ago, when our great‑grandparents first arrived in the valley. In Amy Walton's own handwritten memories, she described a landscape that was wild and generous, a place where neighbours depended on one another and where every season demanded both grit and gratitude. She wrote about the long journey west, the first winters, the early gardens, and the deep sense of belonging that slowly grew from working the land with her own hands.
Those early settlers helped shape the Bearberry community, raising families, tending cattle, building homes, and creating the networks of care that rural life depends on. Each generation added its own chapter, carrying forward the values they lived by, respecting the land that sustained them.
What began as a small beekeeping project became a way to honour our family’s long relationship with this place. Today, we care for bees, gardens, and the land with the same spirit our great‑grandparents carried when they first stepped into the valley.
circa 1930 • Joe Walton, William, Mary, Amy Walton (Chapman) & Hilda