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The National Archival Appraisal Board (NAAB) & the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) are pleased to offer HYBRID training in the monetary appraisal of archives.
Registration page: https://naab.ca/event-6574033
Registration deadline: 13 April 2026
This session, hosted at Simon Fraser University Library, Special Collections and Rare Books (Burnaby Campus), will be taught in English by Simon Rogers, Chair of the NAAB Board of Directors, and Curtis Sassur, Practising NAAB Appraiser. The session will be hybrid; registrants can choose to participate in person or remotely. The session will consist of three full days of courses followed by one day dedicated to consulting archival materials and preparing for the final assessment: the appraisal report. On the final day, participants will have the choice of working on site to consult archival material in preparation for their final assessment, or to work remotely on a digitized collection. The instructors will be available to answer questions both in person and remotely. The Masterclass puts in place the critical pieces of the archival monetary appraisal puzzle and, in a straightforward way, enhances your skills, increases your understanding about monetary appraisal processes and improves your ability to undertake effective archival monetary appraisals. Case studies will be used to illustrate and deepen the lessons learned. On the final day of the Masterclass, participants will inspect archival material for their summative assignment – a full archival monetary appraisal and a written monetary appraisal report – due on 7 May 2026. Upon successful completion of the summative assignment, participants will become eligible to be designated as a Practising NAAB Appraiser. Applicants with experience and expertise in archives, libraries, museums, galleries, and other heritage professions and meet the following minimum requirements are invited to apply. If you have any questions or concerns about whether the Masterclass is right for you, please contact us at NAAB@archivescanada.ca
The Vancouver session will be delivered in English only.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: https://naab.ca/Masterclass
Vancouver, like most urban centres, has had its share of unrealised designs, many of which only leave evidence of their proposed existence in the archives. But how do you go about searching for such records? Drawing on her graduate research, Bronwyn will introduce some insights regarding the challenges and approaches to researching unbuilt designs in archives and will journey through examples of some of Vancouver’s civic-related development proposals from the early 20th century.
Watch the full video here.
The BC Labour Heritage Centre is looking for volunteers to help them transcribe their oral history interviews. If you are passionate about the history of BC's labour movement, this might be the project for you!
Volunteers can:
- work online at their own pace
- make a difference saving the stories that fuel their movement
- and work with supportive staff and volunteers
Interested? Email Natasha Fairweather, Project Manager: projects@labourheritagecentre.ca
The Museum of Vancouver is hosting the Repatriation Monologues at the MOV on March 21 and we hope you can make it!
Presented in conjunction with The Work of Repair: Redress & Repatriation at the Museum of Vancouver, this panel brings together voices reflecting on the complex, often deeply personal work of repatriation.
Moderated by Aaron LaMaskin, the conversation will focus on the Museum of Vancouver’s collaboration with the Tŝilhqot’in National Government to return over 60 ancestral belongings—the Nation’s first repatriation from the Museum, completed in 2024.
Through individual reflections and shared dialogue, the panel will explore the emotional and cultural impact of repatriation, the challenges of institutional change, and the ongoing responsibilities museums face in redressing colonial harm.
“Repatriation Monologues” invites attendees to consider what meaningful repair looks like—and how museums can support Indigenous sovereignty, cultural resurgence, and the return of stories to where they belong.
Please arrive early with your event ticket to view the exhibition.
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026
Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm
Location: Museum of Vancouver
Tickets:
$24 General Admission (plus, fees and taxes)
Free for people who self-identify as Indigenous
Details and link to tickets here: Work of Repair: Repatriation Monologues Panel Discussion — MOV | Museum of Vancouver
The Bulkley Valley Museum is hosting a BC Heritage Emergency Response Network (BC HERN) emergency response and collections salvage training workshop in Smithers, April 8-9 2026. There are 9 spots still available!
This in-person intensive 2-day workshop is for keepers of cultural heritage who have little to no training in emergency response related to collections as well as for those who wish to build on existing experience and knowledge.
Instruction and practice on key salvage techniques will build the confidence needed to help in emergency situations. The workshop will include hands-on salvage of objects impacted by water and fire.
Thanks to funding from the Bulkley Valley Community Foundation the registration fee is just $45/person (lunch inclusive). Indigenous organizations are able to register free of charge, contact heidi@bchern.ca for details.
Registration information: https://bchern.ca/hands-on-workshop/
We have secured a preferred hotel rate at the Prestige Hudson Bay Lodge. Use code “BCHERN” to receive a 25% discount for accommodations if you book directly (by phone) with the hotel before March 27th, 2026. Other hotel options and community information can be found on the Tourism Smithers website: https://tourismsmithers.com/
If there are specific questions about the workshop, or if cost is a barrier please email heidi@bchern.ca.
Trade screen time for STEAM time at Britannia Mine Museum, where curiosities will be sparked and a sense of adventure brought to life through a lineup of hands-on, family-friendly discoveries and fascinating stories for explorers of all ages to enjoy.
From Saturday, March 14th to Sunday, March 29th 2026, the museum will present its Spring Break programs, featuring its “Live in the Lab: Secret Identities” interpreter-led STEAM learning sessions, along with its popular “Step Back in Time” social history programs: “Whatever Happened to Mt. Sheer” and “Before Roads and Rail”.
For the Easter long weekend from Friday, April 3 to Monday, April 6, the museum will be hosting Easter themed activities where visitors can take part in a festive scavenger hunt with a unique mining twist as they explore the site in search of hidden surprises. Hop aboard the museum’s special Easter underground train tour and discover how every day felt like an Easter egg hunt for the hardworking miners of Britannia Mine. Learn about the challenges and discoveries that shaped life mining underground in an engaging, family-friendly experience. Visitors can also drop in at the Terra Lab for the “Live in the Lab: Secret Identities” interpreter-led hands-on learning sessions.
Located 45 minutes north of Vancouver on the picturesque Sea-to-Sky highway, the Britannia Mine Museum provides unique and memorable experiences that engage visitors of all ages. Visitors can enjoy fun exhibits and crowd favourites like the underground mine train, gold panning, the award-winning special effects BOOM! show inside the historic 20-storey concentrator Mill building, the minerals and gem gallery, the gift shop and the Beaty Lundin Visitor Centre.
General admission tickets and annual memberships are available online at www.britanniaminemuseum.ca.
For full programming details, visit their website.
The British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF) is excited to announce that its annual conference will be held in Vancouver on May 30, 2026 on the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.
As the nature of our collective work in historical and heritage-based contexts rapidly shifts and becomes increasingly challenging, we are holding dialogue on Layered Histories: Hard Conversations.
This one-day gathering will feature a keynote presentation by award-winning community historian, author, and exhibition curator Catherine Clement, along with two historical panels exploring the diverse histories of British Columbia.
Attendees can also take part in a guided bus tour of Vancouver’s historic Strathcona neighbourhood and learn about the city’s labour history with civic historian John Atkin, as well as enjoy opportunities for social networking.
The event will conclude with our annual awards dinner, where individuals working in the public history sector will be recognized and the winner of the Historical Writing Competition will be announced.
All conference activities are based at the Creekside Community Recreation Centre, 1 Athletes Way.
Everyone is welcome to attend! Participants are not required to have a professional affiliation or membership with BCHF to join.
Registration* is now open: bchistory.ca/conference
*Early bird discounts are available and bus tour seats are limited so we encourage you to register early.
The Spring 2026 issue of British Columbia History magazine will be arriving in your mailboxes soon! The theme if this issue is Black history, and features articles from authors and historians from around BC.
You can purchase single copies of this edition on our website, or become a member of the BC Historical Federation to receive a quarterly subscription.
Stories include:
Plus we have regular contributions from Front Words columnist Mark Forsythe and books editor Dalys Barney, and Snuneymuxw Titumels William A. White who shares teachings on the importance of counteracting the darkness of racism.
The BCHF has learned that Kenneth Welwood passed away on February 22, 2026. Ken served on the BCHF council as treasurer for several years, he will be missed.
Read his obituary in the Vancouver Sun.
The BCHF was sad to hear of the passing of Diane Rogers, on February 8, 2026 after a brief illness.
Read her full obituary below:
In addition to her immediate family, Diane also leaves behind a extended family of people who knew her through her many interests. She was a valued genealogy guest speaker at conferences and webinars around the world. She also headed, nurtured, or supported numerous groups too many to name including the British Columbia Historical Federation, Society of One Place Studies, Guild of One Name Studies, United Empire Loyalists, Women’s History Network/British Columbia, the Maple Ridge Family History Group, and Vancouver Postcard Club to name a few. Diane was also a supporter of the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, the European Festival, and the Highland Games and Scottish Festival. She was an avid reader and belonged to the BookCrossing book club.
At the British Columbia Genealogical Society (BCGS) she held positions as President (2009–2011), Director, Privacy Officer, and also led Special Interest Groups, was the BCGS newsletter and The British Columbia Genealogist editor for many years and was the Website Mistress (a term she used) for a time. She supported the BCGS travelling store known as The Boutique and often travelled around the province in support of that BCGS fund-raising arm. She helped develop the BCGS Vision and Mission statements.
Diane was an early proponent of the use of genetic genealogy (DNA testing) when that was a new field for genealogists. Today we are all very familiar with DNA’s growing ability to put families together, but it was quite unknown and viewed with some suspicion in the early days. Diane was a thinker for the future and advocated expanding genealogical studies beyond the British Isles and into more ethnic groups who also wanted to know of their heritage.
Diane is with her ancestors now. From the many people whose lives you touched—we will miss you.
The family has asked in Diane’s honour, please volunteer at your local seniors centre, donate to a literacy group or The BC Cancer Foundation or maybe just sit down in your favourite chair and pick up a book to read.
British Columbia Historical FederationPO Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, Canada, V1M 2R7Information: info@bchistory.ca
With gratitude, the BCHF acknowledges that it carries out its work on the traditional territories of Indigenous nations throughout British Columbia.
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