Known for his strength and horsemanship and his innovative ranching techniques, John Ware was a legendary Albertan. Born into enslavement, he became a successful rancher and eventually settled near Calgary. He was widely admired as one of the best cowboys in the West, even at a time of widespread anti-Black racism and discrimination. We turn to Cheryl Foggo, author, playwright, screenwriter, and director of John Ware Reclaimed and Karina Vernon, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, to learn more about this legendary Black hero who had a hand in shaping Canada’s prairie culture.