Magpie soars into Edmonton as its Official Bird and Face
The identity of Edmonton is now represented by the magpie, a resourceful native bird that mates for life and is known as a healer by Indigenous Peoples.
The public voted the black billed magpie as the Edmonton City Bird in a poll run by Bird Friendly Edmonton. This region has a unique variety known as the “Ghost Magpie” due to its distinctive colouring according to the Edmonton Nature Club.
An original drawing of the Edmonton’s “e” lined by the river and dressed as a magpie was created by Michael Overduin and his family, who run the Edmonton River project, in consultation with First Nations leaders and local designers. This is the tenth year of co-creating images that reflect the region’s history and aspirations.
Stories of the magpie’s role shared by Elders Jo-Ann and Jerry Saddleback led to refinements of the image and embedded Cree syllabics. The original name of the region was ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, which translates into Beaver Hills House. This pairs with the word Edmonton to bring together threads of the city’s complex identity.
Each year images are invited from the public to represent the Face of Edmonton and the winner is selected by an open vote. The aim is to engage the people who live here and care about Edmonton in developing meaningful visuals about this place.
The grassroots Edmonton River project was formed in response to the Make Something Edmonton initiatve by the mayor’s office for citizen-driven development of authentic imagery for the city. The merch is made available in local shops including including the Edmonton Arts Council Shop, with 10% of the proceeds going to support the Orange Shirt Day Run.
Katie Deck, Owner at The Makers Keep, which sells handcrafted goods from local makers, is printing the Magpie & Sun image on mugs and coasters. These are available alongside the limited-edition Edmonton River tees at shops in Kingsway, Sherwood Park and St. Albert. These and custom printed stickers were produced by Thinkwerx Creative Co., and are also available at the Muttart Conservatory and John Janzen Nature Centre shops.
Everyone is invited to submit an image and vote for next year’s Face of Edmonton at www.edmontonriver.com. The focus for 2026 was nominated by First Nations members to be the bison due to their deep significance to the region’s history, and builds on last year’s chosen image of Beaver Hills House.
Contact:
Michael Overduin, Founder, Edmonton River can be reached at michael@edmontonriver.com and by whatsapp at +1 780 222 6281.
He is currently living in Paris where is working at the University of Paris Saclay until Dec 2025, when he returns to the University of Alberta where he is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
Further details are available at www.edmontonriver.com