Response to the TRC’s Calls to Action

The Provincial Museum was founded in 1886 to preserve, classify, exhibit and keep for British Columbia the cultural objects of First Nations. This is still part of the Royal BC Museum’s mandate 130 years later—but in a very different way. Collaborations that began in the 1950s led to increasing First Nations presence in the museum and stronger links between communities and collections. Since the 1970s, formal partnerships have become the norm. Most recently, the museum partnered with First Peoples’ Cultural Council to produce the award-winning exhibition Our Living Languages. We are working to improve access and make archival materials more accessible and more compatible with First Nations ways of knowing. Now the Truth and Reconciliation Commission demands revitalized policies and responsive practices. The Royal BC Museum is heeding the Calls to Action and excited about the positive changes they will bring.

Read the full response here.