Browse Items (79 total)
Sort by:
Digger Indians, Yosemite Valley
This is a wet-plate processed photograph of a group of Indigenous people in Yosemite Valley, California. The appearance of the four subjects is muddy, with soil streaks on their faces and clothes. The title is actually a derogative term used by white…
Government Order Mandating forced haircuts of Indigenous people (1902)
Black and White official copy of Letter send by William Atkinson Jones, Commissioner of Indian Affairs to superintendents of all federal reservations, dated January 1902. Commonly referred to as the ‘Haircut order’. Within the letter Jones refers…
Mary Greyeyes being blessed by native Chief (1942)
Black and White Photograph, showing Mary Greyeyes bowing for a blessing ceremony by an Indigenous Chief who is stood above her.
She became the first woman from Aboriginal origins to join the Canadian Forces, and was often photographed as a…
She became the first woman from Aboriginal origins to join the Canadian Forces, and was often photographed as a…
Declaration of Indian Rights: The BC Indian Position Paper (1970)
This Document was produced by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and published on 17th November 1970, in direct response to the 1969 White Paper. The White Paper was a controversial policy paper submitted by the serving Canadian Prime Minister Pierre…
Kwakwaka’wakw Transformation Mask (1900-1920)
Artifact is a Transformational ceremonial mask originating from the Kwakwaka’wakw tribe, a Pacific Northwest Coast Indigenous people. The mask is carved from wood in an oval human shape with hinges revealing a similar human face with whale motifs…
Students and Staff at St. Paul’s Indian Industrial School, Manitoba (1901)
Black and White Photograph showing students stood against the brick school wall with their teachers. Formal clothes are worn, the boys photographed have their hair cut very short and all the girls wear hats. The staged photograph offers a reflection…
Kwakwaka’wakw Chief’s mask
This item is a chief’s mask, from the Kwakwaka’wakw tribe in British Columbia. The design of the mask involves human hair and exaggerated facial features supposed to represent a woman in the woods. This item was created in traditional style, to be…
The Cariboo sentinel, article on new mining laws to avoid Indian graves
This is a small article in the Cariboo sentinel discussing how the town has not received a copy of the new laws regarding mining on Indian gravesites. This article was written at a time of gold rush in the area and concerns the implementation of new…
James Douglas’ first message to Earl Grey, secretary of state after obtaining position of Governor of Vancouver Island
This source is a letter from the newly appointed James Douglas, governor of Vancouver Island to the secretary of state in England. This letter discusses the immediate occurrences and issues in the colony at the time, including the decision of Douglas…
Report of Native coal miners to Fort Vancouver
This is a letter to Fort Vancouver about the state of the area and issues happening there. It mentions a coal seam found on Vancouver Island and the native task force that they were using to mine it initially. Douglas mentions the little amount that…