John Ware is an almost mythical person from Alberta's past.

The reason I say mythical is because there are many stories you've probably heard about John, some true and some not.

Alberta author Ayesha Clough is trying to make it understandable for kids with her book 'Howdy, I'm John Ware'.

February is Black History Awareness month and we had the chance to talk to the author who calls Carstairs her home.

Ayesha is a former journalist and mother to a young boy.  She struggled to find any local kids books that talked about Alberta and it's history.

That was the genesis for her writing 'Howdy, I'm John Ware' last February which was illustrated with another Albertan, Hugh Rockwood from Airdrie. 

illustrator Hugh Rookwood, author Ayesha Clough and animator Steve Gervais

Now, since then she reached out and found an animator from Cochrane, Steve Gervais who set the entire book to animation.

We had a chance to talk about how it became animated:

 

You can also watch the Cheryl Foggo documentary 'John Ware Reclaimed' for free on YouTube.

The doc debuted to sold out audiences last year during the Calgary International Film Festival.