With humility, the Gabriola Museum acknowledges that for over 10,000 years the Snuneymuxw people have been the careful stewards of the land and waters of Gabriola Island.
The museum is committed to sharing the stories of our two communities and hopes that by doing so, we will continue to plant the seeds for a respectful, honourable relationship with our Coast Salish neighbours.
Truth and Reconciliation
The Gabriola Museum and Historical Society celebrates and supports Snuneymuxw First Nation and all Indigenous Peoples
The Truth & Reconciliation Commission Canada: Calls To Action (2015) holds 94 recommendations. #67 to #70 are specific to museums.
Museums have an ethical responsibility to foster national reconciliation…
The Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Final Report (2015) states:
In the Commission’s view, there is an urgent need in Canada to develop historically literate citizens who understand why and how the past is relevant to their own lives and the future of the country. Museums have an ethical responsibility to foster national reconciliation, and not simply tell one party’s version of the past.
—Honouring the Truth, Reconciling the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, page 251
The Gabriola Museum fosters national reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by:
- working on its own relationship with Snuneymuxw First Nation People on whose ancestral land the Museum resides
- educating museum visitors about Snuneymuxw First Nation culture, history, worldviews and the truth regarding Canada’s profound injustices towards Indigenous Peoples.
The Gabriola Museum celebrates and supports Snuneymuxw First Nation and all Indigenous Peoples’ successes and resurgence.
We hope that you find this section of the Gabriola Museum website informative and useful to your own Truth and Reconciliation journey.
Truth & Reconciliation Committee
A Truth & Reconciliation sub-committee within the Education Committee was created by the Gabriola Museum in 2016 in response to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada Hearings conducted across Canada from 2009 – 2015 and the findings in subsequent reports.
The sub-committee spent the next few months reviewing these recommendations as well as other Truth & Reconciliation Commission reports available.
Today the museum has shifted from a sub-committee to a committee dedicated to Truth and Reconciliation.
Working with Snuneymuxw First Nation as lead, the museum has truth and reconciliation projects including:
- Snuneymuxw Village of the Ancestors
- a published book on the petroglyphs called Snuneymuxw History Written in Places and Spaces: Ancestor’s Voice – An Echo in Time written by C’tasi:a (Snuneymuxw Elder Geraldine Manson)
- a series of panels specific to Snuneymuxw cultural history in the museum’s self-guided history tour
- cultural learning opportunities on National Indigenous Peoples Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- a new series titled Re-Storying Gabriola Island
We continue to recommend that all Canadians read all six of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Final Reports including the 94 Calls to Action (2015).
Other significant reports are:
- The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Final Report: Reclaiming Power and Place (2019)
Final Report | MMIWG - In Plain Sight – Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care (November 2020)
In-Plain-Sight-Summary-Report.pdf (gov.bc.ca)