Blog & News

The British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF) has announced four recipients of the 2023 Centennial Legacy Fund grants.

They are: the West Coast Ringette Historical Society ($2,500), Indo-Fijian Cultural Society of Canada ($3,700), Spencer Legebokoff ($700), and Letitia Johnson ($3,100).  

Successful projects commemorate or preserve historical sites, cultural landscapes, or objects, and encourage new research, interpretation, or publication of British Columbia history.   

The West Coast Ringette Historical Society's 50th Anniversary Documentation Project captures and documents the oral histories of former ringette athletes, coaches and builders in British Columbia. Ringette is a Canadian sport invented for female athletes in 1963, which was brought to BC in 1974.  This is the first time ringette history in BC has been collected and documented. 

The Indo-Fijian Cultural Society of Canada’s project will capture oral histories of the first Indo-Fijian Immigrants to British Columbia and the elders of BC's Indo-Fijian Community. The Indo-Fijian community is one of the four largest Diasporas in the world, yet there has been no previous research conducted on the heritage and history of the Indo-Fijian people in British Columbia and their contributions to BC’s society.   

Spencer Legebokoff’s Doukhobor History Poetry Project will see him researching niche aspects of village life and politics and writing inspired poetry. As a result, the body of Doukhobor literature as well as literature that represents the history of the West Kootenay region will be expanded. 

Letitia Johnson’s project called “Lasting Local Effect: Japanese Canadian Healthcare Professionals and Changes to Medicine in Remote Interior British Columbia (c.1940s-1990s)” will see her research how the labour of Japanese Canadians, as racialized healthcare professionals, changed remote medicine in BC in the 1940s. This project will be the first to consider how the presence of Japanese Canadian healthcare practitioners changed the healthcare provided in rural and remote areas of BC from the 1940s onwards. 

The Centennial Legacy Fund was initiated in 2017 to acknowledge, in turn and collectively, Canada 150, British Columbia’s Union with Canada 1871 Sesquicentennial 2021, and the centennial of the founding of what is now called British Columbia Historical Federation, in 1922. 

CLF Chair Quentin Wright congratulates Spencer Legebokoff at the BCHF Awards Gala on May 4. 

The British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2023-24 W. Kaye Lamb Award for Best Student Works.  

The $1000 first prize in the third-and fourth-year category was awarded to Megan Yaskow for her submission “Wilderness to Wonderland: Prince George’s Anxious Ambition and the 1958 British Columbian Centennial.” 

Megan is a third-year history major at the University of Northern British Columbia. Born and raised in Prince George, her work has been focused on British Columbian history with specific interest in social history, heritage studies, and energy history. Experience working at both the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum and the Northern BC Archives has sparked specific research interest in museums and public history. Megan plans to continue her research of museums and memory through a Master’s Degree in History. Megan is currently working at the Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum.   

For the 2023-24 year a $750 runner-up prize for the third- and fourth-year category was awarded to Amanda Payne for her submission “No Place for a Walk: Sex Work, Crime, and Community in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood during the 1980s-1990s.”

Amanda is a fourth-year student at the University of British Columbia, completing her BA in Anthropology with a minor in History. She also works part time at the UBC Lab of Archaeology Archives where she helps process historical records related to archaeology in BC. She is currently preparing her application to the Master of Arts in History program at UBC. 

The W. Kaye Lamb Award is presented annually to outstanding post-secondary student essays and projects relating to the history of British Columbia. The award has been presented since 1988, initially known as the BCHF Scholarship. It was renamed the W. Kaye Lamb Award in 2001. In 2004, the BCHF introduced two award categories: one for students in their first or second year of study, the other for students in their third or fourth year of study.  

The awards were presented on May 4, 2024 at the BCHF’s annual general meeting and award gala dinner in Chilliwack, BC, on the unceded traditional territory of the Stó:lō people.

Amanda Payne accepts her award in Chilliwack on May 4. 

On May 4, the BC Historical Federation presented its annual recognition awards in Chilliwack at the 2024 BCHF conference. The BCHF is proud to present the award winners across a number of categories.  

Award of Appreciation

Emma Quan and Mark Forsythe were honoured for their time serving on the board of directors of the BC Historical Federation, each with an award of appreciation. Emma was instrumental in managing the organization's Instagram account and contributing to decisions of the board at regular meetings and Mark served as vice-president and spent many hours interviewing local historians and organizations, sharing history through video and in British Columbia History magazine. Mark continues to work with British Columbia History magazine as a columnist.

Award of Merit

Awards of Merit are awarded to individuals and organizations who have made a significant contribution to the study or promotion of British Columbia history.

Earning an Award of Merit at this year's gala is the BC Black History Awareness Society for its 30 years of work creating awareness of Black history in B.C., celebrating historical and contemporary achievements and contributions. Recent projects undertaken by the Society include the development of the Hope Meets Action travelling exhibition in partnership with the Royal BC Museum, and the BC Archives Black History Records Research Guide in partnership with the BC Archives. Jamila Douhaibi accepted the award on behalf of the Society.

Also earning an Award of Merit is Dr. Lorne Hammond who was recognized for his work as curator in the history division at the Royal British Columbia Museum, spanning more than 25 years.

A fountain of knowledge and integral to the development of many popular exhibitions at the RBCM, Dr. Hammond’s expertise actively informed exhibitions including Festa Italian: Celebrating BC’s Italian Communities, Gold Rush: El Dorado in British Columbia, Century Hall and recently, Orcas: Our Shared Future. Lorne has written and lectured extensively on the energy and resource sectors in British Columbia and has been a staunch advocate and guide for younger generations of museum workers.

The BC Historical Federation conference was a one-day event that featured the Federation’s Annual General Meeting, a keynote presentation, and a guided bus tour of S'ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō homelands).

The keynote presentation centered on masking and unmasking Stó:lō placenames, delivered by Dr. Keith Carlson, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous and Community-Engaged History at the University of the Fraser Valley and Director of the Peace and Reconciliation Centre, and Dr. Si:yémiya Albert “Sonny” McHalsie, Cultural Advisor / Sxweyxwiyam (Historian) at the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre, andinstructor at the University of the Fraser Valley.

The presentation explained how place-naming was an integral component of the settler colonial process, and suggested ways in how we can take action to move towards decolonizing, re-Indigenizing, and re-naming places that are known to have original Indigenous names.

Si:yémiya provided examples of place names that guided Indigenous communities while travelling that reflected their knowledge of sites with bountiful food resources; that commemorated historical events and occurrences; and that documented stories of origin and transformation.

Carlson spoke to the process by which colonialists asserted a degree of control by naming spaces and associating new memories that reflected settler heritages. He suggests empowering Indigenous communities to create policies and processes that lead to re-naming on Indigenous terms. 

The messages presented in the keynote presentation were subsequently seeded deeper into the minds of conference participants who joined a three-hour cultural bus tour of Stó:lō homelands where they saw and learned of original Indigenous place names and sxwōxwiyám (ancient stories) and sqwélqwel (personal and family histories) that give shape to Stó:lō culture, history and people. 

Dr. Si:yémiya Albert “Sonny” McHalsie speaks to participants of the 2024 BCHF conference near Yale. 

The British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF) has awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing to Jennifer Bonnell, author of Stewards of Splendour: A History of Wildlife and People in British Columbia published by the Royal British Columbia Museum in 2023. The award was presented on May 4 at the BCHF’s award gala dinner in Chilliwack, on the unceded traditional territory of the Stó:lō people.  

The book explores the history of wildlife conservation in British Columbia, from pre-contact Indigenous stewardship to the present. It examines the ways that scientists, Indigenous leaders, hunter-conservationists and naturalists contributed to and contested wildlife management practices in the province. 

Historian and academic Jennifer Bonnell of Toronto was on hand to receive the award that includes a $2,500 prize -- the largest for historical writing in BC. Second prize of $1,500 went to Katherine Palmer Gordon for This Place is Who We Are (Harbour Publishing) and third prize of $500 to Jonathan Swainger for The Notorious Georges (UBC Press).

Three books received honourable mentions: Wayne McCrory, The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin (Harbour Publishing), Barry Gough's The Curious Passage of Richard Blanshard (Harbour Publishing) and Sam George with Jill Yonit Goldberg for The Fire Still Burns (UBC Press, Purich Books). 

The Community History prize was awarded to Ellen Schwartz for Galena Bay Odyssey (Heritage House).

Jennifer Bonnell, winner of the 2023 BCHF Historical Writing Award. 

The BC Historical Federation is getting ready to welcome members to Chilliwack for its Annual General Meeting, gathering and awards gala on May 4. 

Attendees can now download the 2024 Annual Report and AGM package. 

Please refer to our conference webpage to for venue address and other information. 

Schedule: 

AGM
9-10am (doors open at 8:30am)
Gathering Place, University of the Fraser Valley Chilliwack Campus. 45190 Caen Avenue, Chilliwack, V2R 0N3.

Keynote Presentation
10-11am
Gathering Place, University of the Fraser Valley Chilliwack Campus. 45190 Caen Avenue, Chilliwack, V2R 0N3.

Guided Bus Tour
12:30 pm-4:30 pm (please come early)
Leaves from the Stó:lō Resource and Research Management Centre. Building #10 – 7201 Vedder Road, Chilliwack, BC, Canada, V2R 4G5.

Awards Dinner
7-9pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
Coast Hotel, Chilliwack. 45920 First Ave, Chilliwack, BC V2P 7K1.
Cash bar and silent auction. 

The British Columbia Historical Federation is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2023 Historical Writing Awards. The awards will be announced during the awards gala taking place this year in Chilliwack on May 4 at 7pm.  

In alphabetical order by author, the list is as follows:  

• Jennifer Bonnell, Stewards of Splendour: A History of Wildlife and People in British Columbia. Royal British Columbia Museum.    

• Sam George, with Jill Yonit Goldberg, Liam Belson, Dylan MacPhee, and Tanis Wilson, The Fire Still Burns. UBC Press, Purich Books.    

• Barry Gough, The Curious Passage of Richard Blanshard. Harbour Publishing.    

• Wayne McCrory, The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin. Harbour Publishing.  

• Katherine Palmer Gordon, This Place is Who We Are. Harbour Publishing. 

• Ellen Schwartz, Galena Bay Odyssey. Heritage House.   

• Jonathan Swainger, The Notorious Georges. UBC Press.    

The BC Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing will be awarded together with $2,500 to the author whose book makes the most significant contribution to the historical literature of British Columbia. The second-place winner will receive $1,500 and third place, $500. One book will also be awarded the Community History Award, worth $500. Certificates of Honourable Mention may be awarded to other books as recommended by the judges.   

The 2023 competition received 25 publications, all of which add to the compendium of historical writing in British Columbia. 

The Nelson opera house stood from 1898 until it burned in a spectacular fire in 1935. (Greg Nesteroff collection)

Nelson Museum archives assistant Tressa Ford looks at the history of theatre in that city. She writes: "In spite of instabilities of venue, funding and societal change, there has always been a stubborn dedication to theatre in Nelson."

Read more at the Nelson Star.

A lovely afternoon of storytelling at the Chinatown Storytelling Centre with Simon Chang who shared his inspiring journey from Vancouver's Chinatown to becoming one of Canada's most commercially successful designers. ⁠

In this presentation to the Vancouver Historical Society, historians Megan Davies and Tamara Myers tell the tale of Othoa Scott, a Hornby Island girl crippled by a back injury a century ago, using her life story to describe the development of a hospital for injured children in Vancouver, and the solariums in BC where they lived as they were treated and rehabilitated.