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The UBC Library needs your help! They are digitizing British Columbia directories in order to make them available publicly online, and are looking for 2 indexes. Can you help find them? Read the request from Doug Brigham below:
"I'm reaching out to the local history community to try and locate copies of two indexes for British Columbia directories:
I would like to digitize the indexes as part of a project I'm working on: a map-based platform for locating BC towns and directories. The indexes are held fairly widely in libraries, but I'm having trouble locating copies that I can use for digitization.
If you have copies of either of these indexes that you are willing to sell or donate to the project - or if you know someone who might be - I would appreciate hearing from you!
And if you'd just like to connect to talk about BC directories, I'd love that too."
If you can help, contact Doug at doug.brigham@ubc.ca
Ron Verzuh at the Mac-Pap memorial next to the BC Legislature.
On Nov. 11, 2024, volunteers will place white flowers on the graves of British Columbians who volunteered to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). The commemoration at B.C. cemeteries is the unique initiative of the Mac-Pap Tribute, a group dedicated to recognizing what many see as “forgotten soldiers.”
The Mac-Paps, or Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, were part of the International Brigades that fought General Francisco Franco’s fascist forces as they seized power from the elected government. More than 1,600 Canadians fought alongside the Spanish Army.
“When you start doing the research you start falling in love with them and feel terrible that nobody knows about them and nobody’s acknowledging them. So it’s just a little way to pay tribute to these people,” said MacPap Tribute organizer Pamela Vivian. “They’re not recognized here in Canada, no one talks about them, barely anyone knows about them.”
The Canadian government prohibited the Mac-Pap volunteers from going to Spain. In fact, it passed the Foreign Enlistment Act which had stiff sanctions against fighting fascism there and the RCMP enforced it, relentlessly following the volunteers. Many tried to re-enlist to fight Hitler in the Second World War but were barred because of their history.
Going further, the King government did not support the Spanish government in its fight for democracy against Franco who was assisted by both the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini and the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The civil war is viewed as the prelude to the world war, with Germany and Italy using Spain as a testing ground for the war machinery that would lead to the death of tens of millions.
“Many Mac-Paps were denied the right to serve and some contributed to the war effort as Merchant Mariners,” Vivian said. “This tribute is a way to honour them this Remembrance Day.”
The organizers can be emailed at macpaptribute@gmail.com.
Some people also saluted the Mac-Paps on Oct. 28, 2024, when 86 years ago, a woman known as La Pasionaria stood on a platform in Barcelona, Spain, to thank the International Brigades volunteers as they were asked to stand down. The war ended several months later.
Ron Verzuh is a writer, historian, and BC Historical Federation board member.
Mac-Pap memorial next to the BC Legislature.
A group of Witsuwit’en hereditary chiefs, elders, artists, and youth will visit Paris this month to view a historic totem pole taken from their territory nearly a century ago. The K’ëgit pole was sold under pressure in the late 1930s, and has since been housed at the Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac Museum since 2001.
“It’s quite emotional when I think about our people,” said Hagwilnekhlh Ron Mitchell, current House Chief of the C’inegh Lhay Yikh (House of Many Eyes) of the Likhsilyu Clan (Small Frog). “I will be happy to see the totem pole and a part of our house and chief’s history, but sad at the same time.”
In 1938, surrealist artist Kurt Seligmann travelled to B.C. to purchase a totem pole, driven by his fascination with Northwest Coast Indigenous art. After consulting with anthropologist Marius Barbeau, who had studied the region’s totem poles, Seligmann selected the K’ëgit pole from the Witsuwit’en village of Tsë Cakh (Hagwilget). The pole, revered for its age and craftsmanship, depicts the story of K’ëgit, a supernatural figure. It was originally raised in the early to mid-1800s by C’idimsggin’ïs, a former house chief of C’inegh Lhay Yikh.
The delegation asserts that the pole was sold under duress. With backing from the Department of Indian Affairs and the local Indian Agent, Seligmann purchased the pole from Likhsilyu House Chief Hagwilnekhlh Arthur Michell and other Witsuwit’en members for a mere $100. The community leaders were pressured into agreeing to the sale, which resulted in the pole being shipped to Paris. It was displayed at the Musée de l’homme (Museum of Man) before being moved to the Quai Branly Museum.
SD54 District Principal of Indigenous Education ’Ilhdesinon Birdy Markert, a descendant of the pole’s original sellers, views the visit as a step toward healing. “It’s an emotional uncovering of past stories regarding our traditions that are difficult to pull apart,” she said. “I want young people to understand what our ancestors went through as they dealt with colonization and how hard they fought to keep our culture and traditions alive.”
Read the full article here.
Join Library and Archives Canada for an introduction to available resources for military history research. Learn how to search for service records for personnel from the First and Second World Wars. Discover techniques for accessing the collections and digitized records such as war diaries, photographs and other resources.
WHEN: Thursday, November 7, 2024 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
WHERE: Online
Hosted by the Vancouver Public Library.
Register here.
In 1909, Charles “Chappy” Chapman, Fred Perry, Billy Gray and Charles Macdonald set off for the headwaters of Seymour Creek in North Vancouver. The four friends, members of the British Columbia Mountaineering Club, planned to survey the rugged and virtually unexplored terrain during a summer holiday. They carried survey and photographic equipment, gear and supplies for two weeks, and a pie. Chapman’s granddaughter, Lid Hawkins, discovered his journal decades later. She blended his notes and spectacular photographs of the area to create Holiday 1909, as a tribute to their adventure.
Watch the full video here.
From the Chinese Canadian Museum:
As The Paper Trail to 1923 Exclusion Act exhibition draws to a close, Elwin Xie, Chinese Canadian Museum tour guide and interpreter, will share what he has learned while further researching his family.
Join us for an evening with our knowledgeable and illustrious Museum Interpreter and Tour Guide Elwin Xie, as he shares his lived experience growing up in Vancouver’s Chinatown and his familial ties with the feature exhibition The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Drawing on his conversations with visitors to the Chinese Canadian Museum since opening on July 1, 2023, Elwin will discuss how his encounters have helped clarify some family questions and illuminate colourful stories within the pioneer overseas Chinese community (Lo Wah Kiu 佬華僑) in Saltwater City 鹹水埠 (Vancouver) that came searching for their mythological Gold Mountain (Gum San 金山).
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Location: Chinese Canadian Museum (51 E Pender St.)
Time: 6:30-8:30 P.M.
Cost: $5/annual pass holder; $8/general admission visitor; free for youth, student, and senior annual pass holders *GST not included
Register: Registration link here
On Oct. 29, 1924, a train explosion between Grand Forks and Castlegar claimed the lives of Doukhobor leader Peter V. Verigin and eight others. Whether the explosion was accidental or deliberate has never been definitively determined.
To commemorate Verigin’s life and the centennial of this tragic and history-altering event, the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ has been hosting a monthly speaker series. For more on Verigin’s life, click here. For more on the explosion, see the Canadian Mysteries website. For more on the history of the monument erected at the site of the explosion, click here.
Artist Henry Tsang speaks on his art project and book about the 1907 riot that trashed Vancouver's Chinatown and damaged the Powell Street Japanese community, led by members of the Asiatic Exclusion League and organized labour.
The CCA Archives Advisory Services Working Group is pleased to announce that the Reconciliation Toolkit for Non-Indigenous Archives in Canada is now available. The toolkit can be found at this link: https://archivescanada.ca/toolkit/. This Toolkit was made possible thanks to the support of the Council of Provincial and Territorial Archivists.
The Reconciliation Toolkit for Non-Indigenous Archives compliments the work of the Response to the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Taskforce (TRC-TF) of the Steering Committee on Canada’s Archives, which is working on compiling resources to assist Indigenous communities developing their own archives. Together, these resource portals encourage members of the archival community in Canada to develop the skills and knowledge needed to make connections with their local First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.
The information in this toolkit will support non-Indigenous archives working toward putting the Reconciliation Framework into action within their current archival management practices.
The intent of the Toolkit is to answer "where do we even begin and how do we stay on the path towards Reconciliation?” The Toolkit is intended to be a starting point to support information professionals develop new ways of understanding the Indigenous records within their holdings and develop respectful and reciprocal relationships with their Indigenous colleagues/communities.
The Archives Advisory Services Working Group will be updating the resources on this Toolkit regularly. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact aaswg@archivescanada.ca.
Okanagan Archives is excited to introduce Amanda Christmas as their new Executive Director.
From Okanagan Archives: "Amanda brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to our organization. Her passion for history and dedication to community engagement make her a perfect fit for leading our efforts to preserve and share the rich heritage of the Okanagan Valley. With her at the helm, we are confident that Okanagan Archive will continue to grow and evolve, bringing innovative ideas and renewed energy to our projects. We look forward to the exciting developments under Amanda’s leadership and are thrilled to have her guiding us into this new chapter."
British Columbia Historical FederationPO Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, Canada, V1M 2R7Information: info@bchistory.ca
The Secretariat of the BCHF is located on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish speaking Peoples.
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