Victoria's Royal BC Museum awards grants to 21 indigenous communities for repatriation projects

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site in British Columbia
©SueFrausePhoto (2005)

The Royal BC Museum's Indigenous Advisory and Advocacy Committee (IAAC) has announced that funding will be granted to 21 First Nations communities across British Columbia to support their work in repatriation. 

The grants will be used to support a host of repatriation activities, from establishing planning committees to facilitating the return of ancestral remains to home communities. A total of $586,160 will be distributed among the 21 First Nations communities, cultural societies and associations and museum societies. 

"Museums around the world, including the Royal BC Museum, have a moral obligation to support indigenous communities engaged in repatriation," said Prof. Jack Lohman, CEO of the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.

Examples include the K'omoks First Nation, which is using their funding to build a community grave house, build a database for repatriated items, construct cedar burial boxes, establish a repatriation committee and conduct cultural ceremonies. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation is using its funds to develop a Repatriation Policy and repatriate Ancestral remains (the "Little Lady" from Simon Fraser University). 

The repatriation grant program is a first in Canada, part of an ongoing collaboration between the Royal BC Museum and Indigenous communities throughout BC. The program addresses the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the direction provided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The repatriation grant program was made possible through the Province of BC's investment of $2M to the Royal BC Museum in 2016 to develop a First Nations department and repatriation program. 

More information about the program, including a list of recipients and their projects goals, is available on the Royal BC Museum's website. 

Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs makes North American debut at Victoria's Royal BC Museum

Victoria's Royal BC Museum opened the international ancient Egypt exhibit Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs in May and it will be on view until December 31, 2018. Artifacts were selected from four key ancient Egyptian collections, including three German museums: Egyptian Museum in Berlin; Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim; Gustav-Lubcke-Museum in Hamm; and the University Museum of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Pictured above is a sculpture of the head of Hatshepsut, a female Pharaoh, from her temple complex at Deir el-Bahari that is located on the west bank of the Nile, across from Luxor. It's one of more than 300 original Egyptian artifacts dating back 4,500 years.

The exhibition showcases the most impressive and intriguing Pharaohs, along with information about the scribes and writing that enabled their empires. 

The exhibition is family-friendly, with lots to touch, play with and learn. Scale-model replicas of famous pyramid complexes are included, along with games and cutting-edge multimedia. A complementary film, Mysteries of Egypt, is playing at the IMAX Victoria Theatre for the duration of the exhibition.

Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs
Royal BC Museum
675 Belleville Street
Victoria, BC | Vancouver Island
royalbcmuseum.bc.ca
Photos courtesy Royal BC Museum


Inn at Laurel Point's 'Time of Pharaohs ' package

Includes waterside accommodation
Two adult admissions for 'Egypt: The Time of Pharaohs' at the Royal BC Museum
Egyptian made keepsake pyramid and journal
Complimentary parking
'Key to the City' discount for local businesses
Rates start at $366/Canadian ($281 US) per night
Royal BC Museum is walking distance from Inn at Laurel Point
Reservations: www.laurelpoint.com or 800.663.7667
©SueFrausePhoto

Further Afield ... 

I spent a week in Egypt in April of this year, which included a visit to the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. My husband and I were with a small group tour coordinated by Alex City Travel based in Alexandria, Egypt. Highly recommend. ©SueFrausePhoto

Cool car returns to Victoria for Canada 150: Royal BC Museum goes back to the future with the Esso 67-X

The main lobby of Victoria's Royal BC Museum is known for its flashy cars. In 2016, John Lennon's "psychedelic" Rolls-Royce returned to the museum, much to the delight of both Beatles and Rolls-Royce fans. The 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Touring Limousine was on public display for two months.

The lobby of the RBCM is once again a glass garage for a piece of automotive memorabilia. But this time, it's the Esso 67-X, one of the rarest cars in Canada. It is shown here as it arrives at the entrance to the RBCM.

Fifty years ago, the oil and gas corporation Esso commissioned the creation of the futuristic car to celebrate Canada's 1967 centennial. This is the only licensed model to have survived, and the museum is providing a free viewing in its glass lobby now through Sunday, March 12, 2017.

The 67-X was designed by George Barris, a California car customizer who created the first Batmobile. Barris stretched an Oldsmobile Toronado with its massive 385 horsepower aluminum motor and used such innovative concepts as front-wheel drive, fiberglass panels and disc brakes. Inside, Barris added swivel seats, a writing table, picnic cooler, two tape decks, two radios and children's headphone jacks.

Four of these cars were built as grand prizes for a contest designed to encourage families to explore Canada. This may be the car won in BC, although its history is unclear. The 67-X is now owned by Royal BC Museum supporter Trevor Weflen, who has loaned it to the museum for this temporary display.

Photos courtesy of the Royal BC Museum

Note: This won't be the only iconic Canadian motor vehicle to be on display in the Royal BC Museum's lobby during Canada's 150th celebration in 2017. From April 12 - October 1, as part of the feature exhibition Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada, the museum will display the original Ford E250 Econoline van that provided shelter for Terry Fox during his Marathon of Hope. 

Royal BC Museum's traveling exhibition, Species at Risk, goes on the road across British Columbia

Vancouver Island Marmots, one of Canada's most endangered mammals, suffered significant losses this past winter. The unique marmot may be found on mountain slopes and alpine meadows around central Vancouver Island, but the rodents are at risk due to habitat loss.

The Royal BC Museum's traveling exhibition, Species at Risk, highlights the plight of British Columbia's vulnerable flora and fauna, such as the Vancouver Island Marmot, and emphasizes positive ways people can help their non-human neighbors. This is the second summer the traveling exhibit will be touring around BC.

The traveling Species at Risk exhibition. 

Species at Risk is making stops throughout the province this summer at schools, museums and events on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, Okanagan and, for the first time, the Kootenays. The public is invited to visit, explore and learn for free.

Species at Risk will be at Victoria's BC Legislature Grounds on Canada Day, July 1, for its send-off from Vancouver Island to the mainland. "We created Species at Risk to tell a story that is of critical importance to this province," said Prof. Jack Lohman, CEO of the Royal BC Museum. "We are extending our research and expertise to communities around the province to better explain what we do."

Beautifully designed Mini-Museum kits featuring real specimens and hands-on activities travel with the exhibition. The eight kits, four of which are new this year, are distributed to schools around the province and used throughout the school year. Two knowledgeable interpreters work with the regional partners to bring the exhibition to life and engage with local communities.

This butterfly, a subspecies of the Western Branded Skipper, is found in Garry Oak and coastal sand spit ecosystems around southern Vancouver Island. It is a species at risk because of habitat loss and pesticides. 

Species at Risk Tour Schedule - Summer 2016

July 1 | Canada Day Send-off, BC Legislature Grounds, Victoria

July 5 | Science World at TELUS World of Science, Vancouver

July 6 | Surrey Art Gallery and Bear Creek Park, Surrey

July 7 | Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC Campus, Vancouver

July 9 | Kamloops Museum & Archives, Kamloops

July 11 | Big Little Science Centre, Kamloops

July 12-13 | Okanagan Science Centre, Vernon

July 18-22 | Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art & History, Nelson

July 25-August 1 | Creston and District Museum, Creston

August 4 | Wildsight, Invermere Branch

August 8-12 | Ktunaxa Interpretive Centre, Cranbrook

August 15-19 | Rossland Museum and Discovert Centre, Rossland 

Photos and Images by Royal BC Museum

Vikings Land at Victoria's Royal BC Museum During First Stop on North American Tour

Days of the Week: Discover which four weekday names that are still in use today have Viking origins. Photo courtesy Royal BC Museum.

Vikings: Lives Beyond the Legends has landed at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC. Vancouver Island is the international exhibition's first North American stop and runs through November 11, 2014. The exhibition evolved from recent discoveries and provides insight into the Viking era. 

Artifacts, interactive computer displays and hands-on educational activities tell the story of the Viking people, illustrating who they were and how they lived. Vikings: Lives Beyond the Legends challenges commonly held beliefs and misconceptions of this mythical period. It breaks through stereotypes of Vikings as plunderers rampaging across Europe, wielding swords in search of treasures and valuables. The people of what is today Denmark, Sweden, Norway, northern Germany and parts of Finland lived mainly off the land. They were farmers and fishermen, and the myth of horned helmets was invented in modern times.

Pendant, crucifix, silver. This pendant is considered to be the oldest known crucifix found in what is present day Sweden. It was discovered in a woman's grave in Björkö, Adelsö, Uppland -- she seemed to have great wealth. The crucifix is completely unique, both in shape and its early dates, and no others of this type have been found. Photo courtesy Royal BC Museum, 
SHM 34000:Bj 660 (FID 108914).

The exhibition, produced by the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm and MuseumsPartner in Innsbruck, Austria, features more than 500 rare artifacts and original archaeological objects from the 8th-11th centuries. They include jewelry, swords, axes and clothing -- many have never been displayed outside Scandinavia. 

The objects provide glimpses into domestic life at that time: family and community, religion and rituals, travel and trade aristocracy and slavery and Viking women. The exhibition provides insights into the significance of the Vikings' craft, the power of their mythology and the symbolism of their ships.

Scandinavian Settlement and Viking Activity: Though the word 'viking' appears in Old Norse sources, it's mainly used to describe an activity. Men and women went 'on a viking' -- a commercial trip or raid. People seem to have referred to themselves as a Viking only when involved in this activity. This map shows the wide extent of Viking activity and Scandinavian settlement across Europe and the North Atlantics from the 8th-11th centuries. Image courtesy Swedish History Museum in Stockholm.

The six-month exhibition in Victoria, which opened in May, includes numerous activities for all ages. Among the youth oriented programs are Saturday Night Alive and Vikings Summer Camps. A complete schedule may be found on the Royal BC Museum website. 

IMAX Victoria, located in the Royal BC Museum, is screening a companion film to the exhibition, Vikings: Journey to the New Worlds. The 40-minute large-format documentary provides a comprehensive snapshot of the Vikings, their historical and cultural impact, as well as scientific and technological achievements. Special Royal BC Museum and IMAX combo pricing is available. 

Tickets for Vikings: Lives Beyond the Legends are available online or at the Royal BC Museum Box Office. Call 888.447.7977 for more information. The Royal BC Museum, located near the BC Parliament Buildings and The Fairmont Empress, is open daily from 10-5. Extended summer hours are 10-10 on Fridays and Saturdays through September 27, 2014.