John Ware Reclaimed

Cheryl Foggo (director)
73 min | 2020
Part ode, part eulogy, part mystery, with views of sweeping prairie landscapes and music inspired by the film’s subject, John Ware Reclaimed follows filmmaker Cheryl Foggo on her quest to uncover the complex story of John Ware, the larger-than-life Black cowboy who settled in Alberta prior to the turn of the 20th century. As she researches the truths of Ware’s life amid the myths and mistellings surrounding him, she evokes the often-suppressed history of a thriving Black presence in the Canadian West: the Black cowboys, ranchers, laborers, and farmers who lived, worked, and raised families there, including earlier generations of Cheryl’s own family.