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The British Columbia Historical Federation has provided a collective voice for its member societies since 1922.
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There's still time to register for the BCHF Conference in Williams Lake! |
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Spring Issue of BC History Magazine features Repatriation and Rematriation
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The spring edition of British Columbia History magazine features a theme of repatriation and rematriation, and pictures the Maiyoo Keyoh headdress on the front cover along with Jim Munroe, Petra A'huille, Charlotte Munroe, and Seraphine Munroe. Stories include:
- The Cultus Lake Princess Contest Through Stó:lō Women's Voices, by Juliana Schneider Medeiros
- Lucy Bell Receives Reconciliation Award, by Stacey Brzostowski
- Restoring Relations with the K'ëgit Totem Pole: A khiyt (winter) dispatch from Witsuwit'en yintah (territories), by Hagqilnekhlh, Ron Mitchelle, Dzïggot, Ron Austin, We'es Tes, Sandra Martin Harris, Jean Matheson, Diana Wilson, Toni Michell, Drew Harris, Helen Harris, Tyler McCreary, Joanne Connauton, and Mélanie H. Morin
- Ni uchxwiyunem? (Did you listen?), by William A. White - My Precious: Museum Collections and Repatriation of Cultural Objects, by Chad Hellenius
- Repatriation and Reconciliation as Basic Heritage Operations, by Leia Patterson
Plus we have regular contributions from Front Words columnist Mark Forsythe, BCHF scholarship winner Lydia Kinasewich, and books editor Dalys Barney. Rick James also shares his research on historic seedlings that now flourish in Victoria.
Here are some ways you can get the digital or physical magazine:
- Become a subscriber to the magazine and receive 4 issues a year! Sign up to receive DIGITAL or PHYSICAL editions.
- Become a member of the BC Historical Federation and receive 4 issues of BC History per year.
- Order individual copies from our online shop.
- Seek out our retail providers to obtain a copy.
- Visit your local library to borrow a physical or digital copy. If they don't have it, request that they become a subscriber.
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Front Words with Mark Forsythe
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Click the button below to read Front Words with Mark Forsythe, an excerpt from the spring issue of British Columbia History magazine. |
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Lift off: Wheelchair elevator boosts accessibility at Revelstoke museum
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A wheelchair-size elevator, servicing the building's Boyle Avenue parking lot and all the way up to the museum's second floor, has been operational for about a month. It offers a north-facing view of the neighbourhood and mountains, and can accommodate two people standing or one person with a larger mobility device. The elevator is a major step forward — or lift up, rather — for the 1926-constructed heritage building, and something museum curator Cathy English has been talking about installing for as long as 15 years. |
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Smithers Community Heritage Register open for public insight
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A Community Heritage Register is a heritage planning tool to potentially save historic buildings, parks, and totem poles from development that could alter or delete the past of a town or city. In Smithers, two buildings currently have Heritage designation: The Central Park Building, which is home to the Smithers Art Gallery, the Bulkley Valley Museum, and numerous artist studios. It was built in 1925 and received heritage designation in 1981. The other is Smithers Canadian National Railway Station at the end of Main Street, which was built in 1919. Kira Westby, the Bulkley Valley Museum Director has been working for nearly seven years on a project to identify other locations in Smithers which might benefit from being included on a Community Heritage Register. A Community Heritage Register is enacted by local government, unlike Heritage Status, which is federally bestowed. Smithers community members can nominate properties now using this online form. |
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The Revelstoke Railway Museum welcomes new Executive Director
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The Revelstoke Railway Museum would like to welcome their new Executive Director, Victoria Hill.
Born and raised in Rosslyn Village in the District of Thunder Bay, surrounded by the history of the fur trade and the development of the railway and great lakes shipping, Victoria was exposed to significant aspects of Canadian history growing up. She started her educational journey at the University of Lethbridge completing a Bachelors of Arts degree majoring in History. She also has an M.A. in Heritage Contemporary Practice from the University of Kingston London, and an M.A. in The Country House: Art, History and Literature from the University of Leicester.
Victoria has worked at the Founder's Museum and Pioneer Village, and worked with Historic Royal Palaces and Royal Museums Greenwich while completing her M.A. Victoria has also worked at Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay where she was the Lead Interpretive Support Worker where she delivered educational programming and interpreted the fur trade. She took a year out of this position to work for Walt Disney World as a cultural representative in the Epcot Canada Pavilion.
Prior to completing her second M.A., Victoria completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.
Most recently Victoria worked for the Oliver Paipoonge Heritage Park as the Assistant Curator managing the front of house operations and curatorial needs of the museum. Victoria joined the Revelstoke Railway Museum at the end of February 2025. |
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Canadian Museums Association Awards King Charles III Coronation Medals
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The Canadian Museums Association (CMA) was proud to recognize the outstanding contributions of museum professionals across Canada during a special ceremony in Victoria, BC on February 19, 2025. 14 recipients were presented with the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal by CMA’s Executive Director & CEO, Janis Bomberry at a reception at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Click here to view the list of recipients, including several British Columbia-based heritage professionals who have made significant contributions to the field. |
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Reflections on "The Paper Trail" with Elwin Xie
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Illustrious Museum Interpreter and Tour Guide, Elwin Xie, 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 discusses 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).
Elwin Xie is one of the inaugural museum assistants at the Chinese Canadian Museum, leading acclaimed tours and providing interpretation of exhibitions for visitors. Elwin was born in Vancouver Chinatown and raised in the family business, Union Laundry (274 Union Street), during the 1960s. Like most Chinatown children, Elwin attended the inner-city schools of Strathcona Elementary and Britannia Secondary. Alongside his siblings, he worked in the family laundry after school and on weekends.
Elwin’s family story is a quintessential first-wave immigrant Chinese Canadian one. His deep family roots run parallel to the history of the Chinese in Canada: railroad construction, head tax, 1923 Exclusion Act, “Paper Sons”, even with an indentured servant girl (mui tsai 妹仔) within the narrative. The multi-generational family did sustenance labour to survive in Canada, including work in Hastings Sawmill, laundry, diners, restaurants, and waste disposal. His fluency in Yin-Ping Cantonese, a dialect of the Gold Mountain (Gum San 金山) trailblazers, remains a work in progress. |
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Making Art in Chinatown About Chinatown
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The School Room: Reshaping Collections Artist Series - Episode 3
A second-generation settler of Chinese heritage, Janet Wang is a Vancouver-based visual artist and educator working within a traditional painting practice, integrated with sculptural installation practices and digital media. Her creations explore the construction of identity through the appropriation and disruption of social patterns and familiar gestures. Wang pays homage to the canons and traditions of history, both the artistic and the quotidian, in order to use the familiar as a meeting point with the viewer. She has exhibited her work throughout Canada and internationally.
On this episode, learn about Janet’s "Here, There," a new installation on display at the Chinese Canadian Museum in the "Reshaping Collections: Where History Meets Art" exhibition. |
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Voices Through Time - Correspondence of the First World War with Dr. Stephen Davies
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Dr. Stephen Davies of Vancouver Island University describes and illustrates the extraordinary Canadian Letters and Images Project – a heartrending collection of letters home from WWI soldiers describing their hopes, fears, injuries and their longing to be with their families. Anyone who has ever seen or read a war story needs this to complement their understanding of life as soldiers lived it.
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Rediscover Vancouver's Past - Join Us for the Incorporation Day Luncheon!
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From the Vancouver Historical Society:
"Paradise? Picture this: a bid red interurban tram drifting through Richmond in the 1950s, making its way from downtown Vancouver to Stevenston via Marpole. Can you imagine at time when this system was the backbone of transportation?
So how did we let go of something so essential? Fast forward to today, and we're now spending billions to bring it back!
Join us as we explore this fascinating part of Vancouver's history at the Vancouver Historical Society's Incorporation Day Luncheon.
Date: April 6th
Location: Quilchena Gold Club
What's Included: A delicious buffet lunch, displays about BC Electric Railway (BCER), and a presentation by special guest Henry Ewart, author of The Story of the BC Electric Railway." |
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Vitality - Iconic Images, Hidden Stories
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From the Chinatown Storytelling Centre:
"Join us for the launch party of our upcoming special exhibition, Vitality: Iconic Images, Hidden Stories, presented by Nicola Wealth, on Friday, April 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
Enjoy an inspiring evening of storytelling with the curators about how the exhibition came to life and remarks from special guest speakers. Guests can enjoy 10% off all Vitality merchandise and exclusive offers at select restaurants and bars—perfect for continuing the evening in Chinatown!
Admission is $10, with all proceeds supporting the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation’s mission to revitalize Chinatown." |
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The BCHF offers a number of advertising opportunities in our e-newsletter, which is distributed to our entire membership monthly. Advertisements are jpeg images sized to 600 px wide for electronic distribution. To submit an ad, contact Laura Van Zant: laura@bchistory.ca Members enjoy discounted advertising rates. Choose 12 months for the best deal:
1-3 months = $100 each ($100-$300 annually)
4 months = $90 each ($360 annually)
6 months = $80 each ($480 annually)
8 months = $70 each ($560 annually)
12 months = $50 each ($600 annually)
Rates for non-members are as follows:
1-3 months = $150 each ($150-$450 annually)
4 months = $140 each ($560 annually)
6 months = $130 each ($780 annually)
8 months = $120 each ($960 annually)
12 months = $100 each ($1,200 annually)
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British Columbia Historical Federation
Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, V1M 247 • info@bchistory.ca The BCHF Secretariat is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish speaking Peoples. The BCHF is on Facebook. Join the conversation.  |
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