Blog & News

Deborah Chapman giving a cemetery tour.

Deborah Chapman is the recipient of a BCHF Award of Recognition.

Awards of recognition are given by the BCHF to individuals who have given exceptional service for a specific project in the preservation of British Columbia’s history.

Longtime curator and archivist of R.J. Haney House in Salmon Arm, Chapman has been the backbone of the historic site for 35 years.

Throughout this time, she has undertaken countless projects to operate and improve the historic site, which is a cornerstone of the region.

The award was presented at the Federation’s annual conference awards gala in Williams Lake on Saturday.

Dr. Stephen Davies of Vancouver Island University is the recipient of a BCHF Award of Recognition.

Dr. Stephen Davies of Vancouver Island University is the recipient of a BCHF Award of Recognition.

Awards of recognition are given by the BCHF to individuals who have given exceptional service for a specific project in the preservation of British Columbia’s history.

Dr. Davies is being recognized for the creation of “The Canadian Letters & Images Project,” which has scanned and made more than 40,000 war letters sent by Canadian soldiers from the warfront back to Canada available to the public. His work on the project, which has spanned more than 25 years, has given voice to thousands of Canadian War Veterans. The project is available online through https://www.canadianletters.ca.

he award was presented at the federation’s annual conference awards gala in Williams Lake on Saturday.

Jonathan Kalmakoff

A story examining the short life of a Boundary industry has won the BC Historical Federation’s Anne and Philip Yandle Best Article Award.

“The Doukhobor Jam Factory at Grand Forks,” by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of British Columbia History magazine. It was chosen by a panel of judges from among 20 eligible articles published in the magazine last year.

The story examined the events that led to the construction of the factory in 1935 and its demise after just 10 days of production. One judge called it “deeply researched” and said it is “more than the history of a jam factory. It answers questions about a major factor in the complex fiscal collapse of the Doukhobor colonies and the eventual sale of communal lands.” Another called it “a fascinating look at a lesser-known bit of history.”

“It was such a privilege to submit this article to BC History and to serve as guest editor of the issue in which it appeared,” Kalmakoff said.

“In writing it, my hope was to reorient the historical narrative about Doukhobors, in a small but meaningful way, from being a ‘problematic’ people, unable to escape the debate associated with their suitability as Canadians, to being ‘province-builders’ who made a significant collective contribution to the growth and development of British Columbia.”

Kalmakoff is a Regina lawyer, researcher, and writer. He is the creator of the Doukhbor Heritage website at doukhobor.org and a leading authority on Doukhobor heritage in Canada. He is a past recipient of a BCHF Centennial Legacy Grant to support his research into land titles and Doukhobor-owned property.

The award was announced Saturday during the BCHF’s awards gala in Williams Lake and comes with $250 and a certificate. Honorable mentions were also presented to Catherine Clement for “A Match Not Made in Heaven,” and Wayne Norton for “A Question of Perspective: James Harold Trigg’s First World War Internment Photographs.”

Philip Yandle was the founder, editor, publisher, printer, binder, and distributor of the BC Historical News (now BC History) from 1968 to 1977. His wife Anne Yandle was also very active in BC Historical News for almost 40 years and served as its book reviews editor. In 2007, the BCHF renamed its Best Article Award Award in honor of the Yandles.

On June 24, 2025 to celebrate the launch of community historian, curator, and author Catherine Clement’s new book, "The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act".

Building on the stories in the award-winning exhibition of the same name and exploring the lives of dozens more who lived through the Exclusion Act, this book presents an unflinching look at a monumental and shameful chapter in Canada’s origin story.

"The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act" is now available for pre-order through the Chinese Canadian Museum's website for in-person pick-up on or after the book’s release on June 24. Pre-order now to reserve your copy in time for this launch event and get it specially signed by author Catherine Clement.

Shipping options are available through external retailers.

RSVP for the book launch here.

When: May 29th, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Where: Virtual/Online

Cost: Free

Are you interested in learning about Chinese Canadian genealogy and family history resources?

Join us for a workshop online or in-person on resources for Chinese Canadian genealogy. In this special joint presentation, we will hear from the experts at both Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and Vancouver Public Library. You will learn how to access and search digitized resources on the LAC website, including census, immigration and other records, and discover genealogy resources available at Vancouver Public Library. By the end of this presentation, you will have the tools needed to begin researching your own family history.

Register here.

From the BC Labour Heritage Centre:

"The new collection of virtually unknown archival films, including many featuring work and workers, is being saved on the website "The Moving Past". The films are from as early as 1917 when such productions were silent, but background music has been added to the restored versions.

The value of these films lies in critical viewing. Industry is shown through the "lens of the state". Workers are blamed for unsafe practices. Images of masculinity, femininity, white settler culture, morality and well-heeled tourism steer audiences away from thoughts of radicalism and social critique.

David Sobel is the force behind The Moving Past, which aims to save the films from deterioration by digitizing and sharing as many as possible."

In the collection is "Fresh From The Deep" (1922), a 4 minute silent film that follows halibut fishers on the North Coast of B.C. to the canneries of Prince Rupert Harbour. You can watch "Fresh From The Deep" here.

Jennifer Chutter explores the history of the Vancouver Special house – who designed it and how it responded to the need for a larger affordable house for a changing cultural demographic, especially in East Vancouver. She delves into the opposition it created in neighbourhoods and at City Hall, leading to its "banning" in the 1980s after almost 20 years of it being the most popular housing style in parts of the city.

Watch the full video here.

The British Columbia Museum Association is bringing back Watercooler Wednesday! Connect with Museum, Gallery and Heritage professionals from across British Columbia. Gather around the digital watercooler to catch up, chat, ask questions and seek advice.

Learn more here.

The British Columbia Museum Association (BCMA) has released a De-escalation and Harm Reduction toolkit as part of their Safety+ resource collection.

From the BCMA:

"Museum and cultural workers all over BC have expressed feeling unprepared to respond to crisis situations involving community members and patrons experiencing emergencies, especially those relating to mental health crisis and drug overdose. This toolkit is meant to provide workers with the knowledge and tools to assess and respond to emergencies while feeling safe and empowered. Our intention is to share a resource that can initiate discussions within your workplace so that your organization can take a collective commitment to life-affirming and humanizing practices whenever possible. We hope this supports you to be in service to your community and move from a place of love!"

The toolkit can be accessed here.

Photo: Sierra William, Loretta Jeff and Chantu Williams with three of the 29 qatŝ’ay (coiled root baskets) that were repatriated and are now back in Tŝilhqot’in territory.

In 1974, the remains of a Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation ancestor that had been donated to the Museum of Vancouver seven years earlier were returned to the Cape Mudge Reserve, on the southern tip of Quadra Island, to be respectfully reburied.

It was long before museums around the world would collectively recognize the ethical imperative to return culturally and historically significant Indigenous objects to their rightful owners.

It would be another two decades before the museum would carry out another transfer of this nature, with the return of a collection of archaeological belongings to the Secwepemc Heritage Park, but by the early 2000s, when a new policy was officially added to its collections procedure, the ripple effect of repatriation was in full swing.

Since then, the museum has returned home a total of 384 belongings and 59 ancestors, says Sharon Fortney, the museum’s senior curator of Indigenous collections, engagement and repatriation.

They include repatriations to Indigenous communities in both B.C. and far-flung countries, including the return of a Korowai cloak to New Zealand’s Māori in 2010 and 255 belongings and ancestral remains to the Saginaw Chippewa in the United States in 2012.

Read the full article here.