On Oct. 12 the Royal B.C. Museum which is the Provincial Museum of British Columbia in Victoria organized a community conversation event. They discussed communal involvement and the future diligence of the museum.

Cheslatta Carrier Nation, Lake Babine Nation, Tsil Kaz Koh First Nation, Wetsuweten, Nee-Tahi-Buhn Band and Skin Tyee First Nations were invited for this gathering.

About 20 people came to attend the community conversation and most of them being from the Cheslatta Carrier Nation.

The participants shared their views what museum means to them and how it shapes their daily lives.

Chris O鈥機onnor director of regional partnership and engagement of Royal B.C. Museum felt honoured for being invited by Cheslatta Carrier Nation.

鈥淲e met the chief and some other counselors there and looked at some of the archives. It was a real honour to be there.鈥�

鈥淲e were holding space tonight for a community conversation about the future of the Royal B.C. Museum. How museums can connect with communities in a more meaningful and relevant way like 亚洲天堂 Lake and what we can do to make better connections going forward.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 really interested to hear from the community about how we can make those changes in a good way, whether that鈥檚 a new building or renovating it. More importantly, how we can be relevant to communities around the province.鈥�

Elizabeth Peterson director of Indigenous collections and repatriation of B.C. Museum and Patrick Oystruk facilitator with MODUS was also there from the Royal B.C. Museum.

Nolan Thiffault researcher and archivist from Cheslatta Carrier Nation who attended the engagement hopes the museum will work towards incorporating some of the suggestions made by community members from 亚洲天堂 Lake and the surrounding area into their future plans.

鈥淭he effort made by B.C. Museum staff to begin engaging with the province鈥檚 more northern and remote communities is certainly a positive step forward, and I look forward to working further with the B.C. Museum in the future,鈥� he said.

Lakes District Museum curator Michael Riis-Christianson also attended as a local representative believes the institution is still relevant and has an important role to play in heritage preservation in this province.

鈥淚t was great to have representatives from the Royal BC Museum meet with residents and local historians. The meeting convinced me that the museum shares our belief that museum content should reflect the full historical record and not just history as viewed through the colonial lens. It鈥檚 also important that cultural institutions like the Royal BC Museum reflect this province鈥檚 cultural and social diversity, and be a platform where all voices can be heard.鈥�

The discussion ended with Peterson showing photographs from the museum archives.