On April 12th, the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley officially launched the South Asian Canadian Legacy Project in front of a large crowd that included project partners, community members, and government officials at the Surrey City Hall. Shannon Bettles, BCHF President attended the event on behalf of the Federation.
Six wide-ranging and important initiatives were launched as part of the project:
- Traveling exhibit and outreach kits produced in partnership with the Royal BC Museum.
- South Asian Canadian Digital Archive holding records from the South Asian diaspora from across the country.
- BC labour movement research and online portal produced in partnership with the BC Labour History Centre.
- Book: Social History of South Asians in British Columbia.
- Addition of 15 sites officially added to British Columbia’s Register of Historic Places.
- Production of educational resource called Saffron Threads for K-12 educators and students focused on South Asian Canadian communities and culture in BC.
In May 2020, the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley received a grant of $4,000 from the Federation’s Centennial Legacy Fund to support their project: Missing Aesthetics of Early Sikh Settlers in BC: Where are the women?. Watch the presentation of the award and description of the project on our YouTube channel. View images of the event on UFV’s Flickr Account.
