William A. White, B.A. (University of Victoria), is a Cultural Historian, traditionally trained Snuneymuxw Elder, and a cultural teacher. He recently weighed in at the public engagement session in Nanaimo for the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM), a process designed to gather input from across BC to plan the museum’s future. The representation of Coast Salish People in this provincial institution has been on his mind for many years—since the opening of the First Peoples galleries, on January 18, 1977. Since then, millions of people have visited this “world-class” facility, and hundreds of thousands of students have learned about Indigenous Peoples through its displays.
White worries about the ongoing and legacy impacts of their teachings about Coast Salish People in terms of their relative worth as Indigenous People on the…
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British Columbia History (Digital) - 1 Issue, 56.2 Summer 2023