Innholdsfortegnelse for 58.1 Spring 2025 i British Columbia History

1 Under New Management It’s been one year since the Bonaparte First Nation’s St’uxwtews Pesuten Heritage Society started managing Historic Hat Creek Ranch site. Established in 1860 during the gold rush, the ranch’s roadhouse was an important stop on the Cariboo Wagon Road. It also employed local First Nations. Located 11 kilometres north of Cache Creek, the site is now weaving settler and Indigenous stories together like a braided rope. General Manager Brandy Cooper-Chardon says it has been a rewarding transition year. “We approach this blending with respect and balance, emphasizing that these stories are intertwined yet distinct. Our guided tours and interpretive signage aim to present both perspectives—acknowledging the rich cultural heritage of the St’uxwtews people alongside the impact of settler history. Historic Hat Creek Ranch is a perfect place…

In 1980 I thought it was kind of exciting and scary at the time. Because I was kind of shy. I think it was just an honour to do it, to help the festival raise money. It was fun. I guess maybe it was important. I don’t like to talk about it very much. It’s just … not embarrassing, but … I’m not sure how to say it. And to stay humble about my contribution to the festival. It was all about helping the festival to be successful, to bring our nations to come together and visit and compete in canoe races of all ages and gender. To play Slahal, or the bone game, was exciting and fun to watch, listen to drumming and songs. Nations would sell their crafts; food…

Originally published in the Haida Gwaii News on November 22, 2024. The Haida Gwaii News is published by Stacey Brzostowski. When Black Press closed the offices of the Haida Gwaii Observer on Haida Gwaii, Brzostowski and Andrew Hudson started the Haida Gwaii News as an independent newspaper. To support the Haida Gwaii News, visit Patreon: patreon.com/HaidaGwaiiNews. Sdahl Ḵ’awaas, Lucy Bell, recipient of the British Columbia Reconciliation Award, is a dedicated advocate for repatriation and the dismantling of systemic racism within cultural institutions. Four years after resigning from her position at the Royal BC Museum in protest over its deep-rooted discriminatory practices, Bell continues to address the same systemic issues that prompted her departure. Now pursuing a PhD focused on the racism she witnessed in the museum sector, Bell also remains…

Repatriation has become something of a buzzword in the media these days; however, it’s important to move past empty words when we have these conversations. As Jordan Coble from the Sncewips Heritage Museum summarized, “Repatriation is not just a word, but a call to action.”1 Some in the general public might be confused as to why it is so important for museums to return cultural objects to the communities to which they belong. After all, aren’t museums safeguarding these cultural treasures and doing a valuable service by educating the masses about various cultures around the globe? Well, the truth of the matter is yes—sometimes, sort of—but all too often, the answer is, sadly, a resounding no. More importantly, it’s essential to keep in mind how these pieces of people’s culture…

It was very emotional. I remember being shocked and teared up when they announced my name. Because I was like, “Oh, wow.” I didn’t think it was possible. It was quite an honour. It was the first time I ever felt a real connection and then also a responsibility to the Stó:lō people. It is a pivotal point where I learned there was more to me that I was not aware of and then was able to develop my Stó:lō self. As a child I went to a Pentecostal Christian school and wasn’t immersed in the culture but lived on reserve and had a different take on life in general. And in 1990 my family asked me if I wanted to participate in the contest. It was really important to…

Leia Patterson is the Reconciliation Resource Advisor for the BC Museums Association, and we have invited her into this space to share her thoughts about how small museums and heritage organizations can begin to do the work of creating authentic relationships that broaden and deepen the stories they tell. Museums, heritage sites, and other collections-holding institutions have always held on to the physical to tell the stories of people and society. I encourage all organizations to consider who your stories highlight, and who your collections and archives are providing context for. I hope that this article provides some starting points for ways to think about incorporating reconciliation considerations into core operations. Think within the work being done When you think about the constraints in your work and in your attempts…

There they are—sequoias standing majestically over Victoria’s lovely Rockland Avenue on the way to Government House. Looking into how these trees, which are not native to Vancouver Island, ended up there, I immersed myself in some serious research. The answer soon became quite clear: seedlings were brought north from California. It was most rewarding identifying the original owners of the acreages where these trees were planted in the late 1800s. What I discovered was to inspire me to work up my next book: Twin Cities: Victoria and San Francisco. One day after becoming immersed in the mystery of these magnificent trees, I happened to be strolling along Bowker Creek just below Oak Bay High School where I graduated back in 1965, and there it was! One very large sequoia stands…

In October 2024, a delegation of Witsuwit’en hereditary chiefs, elders, artists, and youth embarked on an emotional and historic journey to Paris, France. Their goal was to reconnect with a significant piece of their cultural heritage—the K’ëgit totem pole belonging to C’idimsggin’ïs, housed at the Quai Branly Museum. This journey, deeply rooted in cultural revitalization and healing, was an opportunity to see and honour the totem pole that was taken from Witsuwit’en lands in 1938. For many of the delegation members, this trip was more than just a visit; it was a powerful act of reclamation and a step towards strengthening their connection to their ancestors and cultural identity. A history of displacement In 1938, surrealist artist Kurt Seligmann travelled to British Columbia, seeking to purchase a Northwest Coast Indigenous…

Lydia Kinasewich was the recipient of the 2022 W. Kaye Lamb Student Scholarship from the BC Historical Federation, and this article is an excerpt from that essay. For more information on Lydia’s work, see her video on the BCHF YouTube channel, tinyurl.com/BCHFKinasewich. In the summer of 1920, a fire erupted on the roof of the St. Alice Hotel situated alongside Harrison Lake, destroying a key tourist accommodation and diminishing accessibility to the healing properties of Harrison Hot Springs. News of this fire was reported throughout the province, noting the loss of a well-known British Columbian hotel.1 After the fire, the only attraction left for tourists at Harrison was the hot springs itself. It became clear that with the loss of this tourist destination centred around health came a new opportunity…

Long before its official opening on June 9, 1969, the Hugh Keenleyside Dam on the Columbia River had already massively changed the lives of those connected to the land in the dam’s reservoir area. The damming of the Columbia just upstream from Castlegar affected wildlife, flooded the former village and burial sites of the Sn̓ʕaýckstx (Sinixt), and displaced settlers and their families from their farms and livelihoods. Marketed as a means to control flooding and to help facilitate increased power generation, the Hugh Keenleyside Dam also brought disruption and loss. Buildings were burned or torn down, and homes and farms were abandoned. Even the cemetery in Mount Cartier was lost to the waters of the Arrow Lakes reservoir. Thousands of people were displaced, and communities were never the same. Originally…