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Annual CONFERENCE & EVENTS

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The BC historical community gathers in a different community around the province to share, learn and connect with one another. 

If you would like to see a conference or a gathering come to your community, or if your organization would like to co-host a conference with us, please contact conference@bchistory.ca

2024 Conference | S'ólh Téméxw | Chilliwack / Ts'elxwéyeqw

BRINGING HISTORY HOME

This year's annual conference will be a one-day event held on Saturday, May 4, 2024. The day will be a full day of activities featuring: 

  • Annual General Meeting of the BCHF
  • Keynote presentation
  • Three-hour guided cultural road tour of S'ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō homelands) - SOLD OUT (wait list only)
  • BCHF awards dinner and presentations

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE

SPONSORS


LOCATIONS

The AGM and keynote presentations will be held at the University of the Fraser Valley's Gathering Place, Chilliwack campus. Address:  45190 Caen Avenue, Chilliwack, V2R 0N3.

The Road Tour leaves from the Stó:lō Resource and Research Management Centre. Address: Building #10 – 7201 Vedder Road, Chilliwack, BC, Canada, V2R 4G5).

The Awards Dinner will be held at the Coast Hotel, 45920 First Ave, Chilliwack, BC V2P 7K1.

AGM & KeYNOTE PRESENTATION

9-11 AM

The one-hour AGM of the BC Historical Federation is the business meeting of the organization. You will learn about the past year of the Federation and plans for the upcoming year.

Attendance at the AGM is free, you can join in person or online. AGM packages will be emailed to registrants prior to the meeting. 

Voting at the AGM is: 

  • Each member of the BCHF board in attendance;
  • Voting delegates accredited by Member Organizations (one delegate for each ten members)
  • One voting delegate accredited by each Affiliate Member.

Please complete and return the delegate form to secretary@bchistory.camail at least one week in advance of the AGM. 

Keynote Presentation

The AGM is followed by a keynote presentation with Dr. Si:yémia Albert "Sonny" Mchalsie and Dr. Keith Thor Carlson.

The AGM and presentation will be streamed online for those unable to attend in person. Both the in-person and online AGM and keynote presentation are free to attend. 

Dr. Keith Thor Carlson

Professor Keith Thor Carlson holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous and Community-Engaged History at the University of the Fraser Valley, where he has additionally been appointed Director of the Peace and Reconciliation Centre. Keith has been partnering with Coast Salish communities, especially the Stó:lō, to help document and interpret history and cultural traditions since 1992. His research is designed and executed collaboratively with Indigenous communities to meet community-identified priorities.

Individually or with partners, Carlson has authored or edited twelve books and fifty-four articles, including the BC Book Prize-winning A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas (2001), and The Power of Place the Problem of Time: Aboriginal Identity and Historical Consciousness in the Cauldron of Colonialism (2010). His current projects include working closely with the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre to investigate the history of children who did not return from residential schools, and developing curriculum resources with the Matsqui and Seabird Island communities. His current SSHRC-funded research investigates the history of smallpox in the Pacific Northwest.

Dr. Si:yémiya (Albert “Sonny” McHalsie)

Si:yémiya is a member of the Shxw’ōwhamel First Nation, and is a proud father and grandfather. His journey in Stó:lō cultural and history preservation and transmission began in 1978 when, while working in his home territory as an archaeological assistant, he was drawn into the oral histories and the stories of his people, which were shared with him by many Elders. 

Si:yémiya is the Cultural Advisor / Sxweyxwiyam (Historian) at the Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre, Stó:lō Nation, in Chilliwack, B.C.  He is also an instructor at the University of the Fraser Valley, and has taught in the past for the University of Victoria for the Ethnohistory Field School. Si:yémiya is an active researcher and publisher, having authored and co-authored various articles and books over the past twenty-five years. The guiding principle behind his research is the ancient Stó:lō tradition of “being of good mind.” His areas of expertise include Stó:lō place names, sxwōxwiyám (ancient narratives) and sqwélqwel (family histories), fishing, and oral history. 

Si:yémiya is a treasured resource among both xwelítem (non-Indigenous) and Stó:lō communities, and is often called upon to teach and advise on aspects of Stó:lō culture and history. He also narrates and leads Bad Rock Tours with Stó:lō Tourism, which takes people throughout Stó:lō Téméxw (Stó:lō territory/land/home) to learn about traditional placenames and sxwōxwiyám. In 2011 the University of Victoria conferred an Honourary Doctorate of Laws on Si:yémiya, and in 2023 received an Honourary PhD from the University of the Fraser Valley.

GUIDED CULTURAL BUS TOUR - SOLD OUT

12:30-4:30 PM

The guided cultural bus tour will visit places of cultural and historical interest and importance around S'ólh Téméxw "Our Land, Our World."

Discover the land as narrated by Si:yémiya, learn Hal'qeméylem place names, and hear the sxwōxwiyám (ancient stories) and sqwélqwel (personal and family histories) that give shape to Stó:lō culture, history and people. 

Visitors will need to arrange transportation to and from the Stó:lō Resource and Research Management Centre.

Tickets are limited to 40 participants for the bus tour and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Please note that the bus tour is sold out as of March 5. We're taking names for the waiting list in case a spot opens up. 

AWARDS EVENING

7-9 PM

The BCHF annual awards dinner features a meal followed by awards presentations. Support our silent auction by bidding on local history books, connect with colleagues, and celebrate accomplishments in local history.

ACCOMMODATION

The main hotel of the conference is the Coast Hotel, Chilliwack

Some other accommodation options in Chilliwack include the following: 

REGISTRATION & PRICING

Online registration opens on February 1, 2024

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

General Admission:

  • AGM & keynote presentation = free 
  • Bus Tour = add $50 - SOLD OUT
  • Awards Dinner =  add $75


2024 Fall Presentation Series

In lieu of a full conference in 2024, an online presentation series will be offered in the fall of 2024. More details will be forthcoming. 

If you are interested in being considered as an online presenter, please contact: conference@bchistory.ca


Delegate forms (AGM)

Past conferences:

  • Princeton, 2023
  • Victoria, 2022
  • Surrey, 2021
  • Courtenay, 2019
  • Nakusp, 2018
  • Chilliwack, 2017


British Columbia Historical Federation
PO Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, Canada, V1M 2R7

Information: info@bchistory.ca  


The Secretariat of the BCHF is located on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish speaking Peoples. 

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