Blog & News

Sons of Freedom children at New Denver in the 1950s. Royal BC Museum and Archives C-01739

An apology to B.C.'s Doukhobor community for the removal of children from their homes has been postponed by the provincial government. The apology was expected this week, but has been delayed until the new year. It's been 24 years since an ombudsperson's report recommended an apology and compensation for actions that were, "unjust and oppressive."  Some members of the Doukhobor community are hurt and dismayed by the postponement. Read more in this Arrow Lakes News story. 

Keith Powell has simultaneously launched Abandoned Kootenays and Koocanusa Burning. The former is a photo collection while the latter is an historical novel.

Read more at myeastkootenaynow.com.

A 93-year-old former elementary school in South Slocan will soon only be a memory.

Read more at mykootenaynow.com.

The Doukhobor Discovery Centre says it needs more cash from the City of Castlegar to support its operations.

Read more at mykootenaynow.com.

The removal of an awning from a building in downtown Trail revealed a hand-painted sign for a travel agency probably from the 1970s.

Read more at mykootenaynow.com.

As the holiday giving season approaches, please remember the BC Historical Federation (BCHF) in your charitable giving plans. We are 100% volunteer-run and every dollar you donate goes to one of our three main activities. 

(1) The British Columbia History magazine is produced four times per year and 

If you donate $50, that will buy one hour of copy-editing time.  If you donate $500, you will help cover the design costs for one magazine issue. 

(2) The BCHF awards program contributes to prizes for the best historical writing, storytelling, and preservation each year. We also award scholarships to emerging scholars studying history in BC’s post-secondary programs. 

If you donate $100, you will help support and recognize individuals and groups working to preserve, research and share BC’s history with the public. 

(3) The BCHF’s Centennial Legacy Fund supports community historians uncovering the diverse cultural, artistic, genealogical and geological history of BC. Last year, the Centennial Legacy Fund helped to support small, local projects on Pender Island, in Barriere, and near Grand Forks. Often, Centennial Legacy Fund grants are used as seed money for larger research grants and leverage support from bigger funding agencies. 

Please consider giving what you can.  We need your help to continue our work! 

Please donate at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-british-columbia-historical-federation/

The Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver is now offering guided tours in English every Wednesday and Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

"We are thrilled to receive such positive feedback on our guided tours and are excited to continue providing more tour experiences at the museum," the museum said.

Tours are complimentary with admission. Make sure you book your tour in advance on our website to secure your spot, as there is a 15-person limit. (Once it's sold out, the purchase option is hidden)

Joining a guided tour is the most comprehensive way to learn about the content of our exhibitions. It gives you a great overview to start before exploring the museum at your own pace afterwards.

A fantastic member of the museum assistant team leads all guided tours. Guides are all trained in museum interpretation and are incredibly insightful, passionate, and knowledgeable about our exhibitions.

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我們有新的導覽日期了！從11月1日起的每週三和週四下午2:30，我們將新增英文的博物館導覽。大眾對導覽的一致好評是我們進步的推動力，希望能繼續為大家提供更好的導覽體驗！

為什麼參與華裔博物館的導覽？

憑門票就能免費參加！記得提前在我們的網站上預訂並保留名額，因為每團上限15人。 (公眾導覽一旦額滿，將不會在購票頁面顯示）。

參加導覽可以更全面了解我們展覽內容。您可以先參與導覽，結束後再按照自己的步伐探索博物館。

所有導覽均由我們專業的博物館助理帶領！他們接受過專業培訓，所以不單十分了解館內的展覽，亦對在帶領時充滿熱情。

Join Heritage Surrey on Saturday, Nov. 18 for a free private tour of Museum of Surrey and a rare tour of the Surrey Collections vault. The behind the scenes experiences will follow the 10:30 a.m. AGM for the Friends of the Surrey Museum and Archives Society. Learn how you can support local heritage and get a glimpse at the work the society supports! RSVP by email to museum@surrey.ca.

The Haq and History exhibit, which will be at the Golden Museum from Nov. 7 to Dec. 16, offers visitors the chance to reflect upon stories from and about South Asian Canadian immigrants, including details about work, home life and keeping cultural traditions alive in BC.

Through panel texts, visitors to Haq and History will learn about Punjabi immigrants working in sawmills in the 1920s; hear about travel from Punjab to Canada in the 1950s; learn some of the challenges of sourcing Indian food in Vancouver in the 1960s; and learn about memories of life in the now-abandoned town of Paldi in the 1940s.

Haq and History is the latest collaboration of the Royal BC Museum and the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Golden's claim to fame is that it was home to the first Sikh temple in North America in the early 1900s.

Detail of a fire insurance map for the Columbia River Lumber Co. The Sikh temple was among the buildings in yellow near top right. (Library and Archives Canada)

University of Guelph historian Linda Mahood has studied hitchhiking as a social phenomenon from the 1920s through until the present day in her book Thumbing A Ride, and focuses this talk on Vancouver in 1970 when it was the destination of wandering youth, culminating in the Jericho Riot in October 1970, when police evicted young people from the Jericho Youth Hostel. Mahood's presentation to the Vancouver Historical Society can be viewed below.