Haida Gwaii Museum
Haida Gwaii Museum at Qay'llnagaay is located in Haida Gwaii, formerly Queen Charlotte Islands, an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. In the Haida Gwaii archipelago all lands and waters are subject to the policies and jurisdiction of the Haida Nation. Additionally some of the islands are protected under Canada federal legislation as Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site, which is mostly Moresby Island and adjoining islands and islets. On June 3, 2010, the Haida Gwaii Reconciliation Act officially renamed the islands Haida Gwaii as part of a reconciliation protocol between British Columbia and the Haida.
The origins of the Haida Gwaii Museum dates back to 1973 when The Queen Charlotte Islands Museum Society was established to create a museum for the Islands. The museum, since renamed the Haida Gwaii Museum at Qay'llnagaay, opened in 1976 at Second Beach in Skidegate. The museum conducts research on the Haida peoples and culture and acquires artifacts, archival records, and reference material relating to the Haida and to white settlement on the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Museum is part of the Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay which was opened in July 2007.
The museum acquires, preserves and provides public access to archival and documentary materials, from 1890 to present, relevant to the history and natural sciences of Haida Gwaii. The museum's archival collections include original papers, journals, diaries, drawings, photographs, maps, audio, film and video recordings. The museum also maintains an extensive library of subjects related to the history, literature and natural sciences of Haida Gwaii. Highlights of some of the collection's archival categories include: diaries and papers belonging to pioneer settlers of the islands, a collection of approximately 6000 photographs, archival records associated with several industrial developments on the islands including the Tasu Mines and the Sewell Inlet logging community, and oral histories of both Haida and non-Haida residents.
The Haida Heritage Centre is an award winning cultural heritage centre in a 53,000 square foot cedar multi-complex consisting of five contemporary monumental timber longhouses. The Centre houses the expanded Haida Gwaii Museum, additional temporary exhibition space, two meeting rooms/classrooms, the Performing House, Canoe House, Bill Reid Teaching Centre, the Carving Shed, a gift shop and a small restaurant/cafe. The Haida Gwaii Museum focuses on the Islands Natural History and traditional Haida Culture. The Museum presents exhibitions and in collaboration with the Heritage Centre it offers guided tours, school programs, classes and workshops, artist residency program, demonstrations, films and lectures.
Haida Gwaii Museum and Catch + Release
Catch + Release will be exhibited at Haida Gwaii Museum at Kay LLnagaay, Skidegate in Haida Gwaii in October 2012. The exhibition will be adapted to the local environment and will include a community workshop. Stay tuned for more information.
For More Information
For more information, visit the Haida Heritage Centre's website here: http://www.haidaheritagecentre.com/about.html
For more about the upcoming exhibition, please refer to: exhibition page.
