Indigenous Culture & Heritage Resources
The BC Museums Association is proud to feature a collection of resources for Indigenous communities, cultural centres and museums as well as non-Indigenous museums, galleries, and cultural organizations who wish to strengthen their relationships with Indigenous communities.
Featured Resources:
Connect with the BCMA’s Reconciliation Resource Specialist
With the support of funding from the BC Arts Council, the BCMA is pleased to announce a new role and portfolio for Leia Patterson as the BCMA’s Reconciliation Resource Specialist.
In this role, Leia will support organizations and Indigenous communities in accessing information about funding, resources, case studies, and peer support for repatriation and reconciliation initiatives. Leia is happy to meet with members to discuss their needs and aims to curate and develop resources to respond to member and community needs. One piece of this support is starting an email list for regular updates on upcoming funding opportunities for repatriation work. You can sign up for the email list here.
CARE Resources
A collection of resources that aim to connect museums with the knowledge and ideas they need to make meaningful steps towards reconciliation and decolonization while being mindful of the time and capacity of Indigenous communities and knowledge holders.
Resources By Topic
Repatriation Call to Action
Museums need community support to ensure that the work they undertake to address past and present harms will last. Museums hold special places in the hearts of many British Columbians and when we change our exhibits and collections, it can often feel sudden or unexpected. We must encourage the public to come to us with their questions and curiosity, and so we can help equip them with the information needed to understand these changes. We encourage institutions to use repatriation as an opportunity to show the return of ancestral possessions as a celebration and not a loss, a new addition to the stories we tell, not a removal. These informed community members can then help spread their support to other museums.
Repatriation Call to Action
The British Columbia Museums Association (BCMA) calls upon all publicly-funded institutions to repatriate ancestral human remains and burial items. In 2022, we are expanding the reach of this Call to Action to advocate for public education around repatriation.
Repatriation Policy Examples
We encourage institutions to check out this selection of Repatriation Policy examples from across BC and Canada. Use what you learn to form a policy that works in your institution, and which can be made publicly available to keep sharing and improving!
2020 Repatriation Grant Archive
Explore the guidelines, application, and FAQ from the 2020 Repatriation Grants.
BCMA Member Directory
Looking to connect to a museum in your area regarding repatriation? You can use our Member Directory to search all our member organizations. Please note that this is not a list of ALL museums in the province, only those who are BCMA Members.
Indigenous Advisory Committee
The BC Museums Association is proud to receive guidance and support from the BCMA Indigenous Advisory Committee.
Rod Naknakim Declaration
We call upon all cultural organizations to embrace the ideals of the Rod Naknakim Declaration.
