Canadians of South Asian Heritages B.C. Museum

Home Engagement Opportunities Canadians of South Asian Heritages B.C. Museum

On this page:

Vision
Background
- Considerations: learning, language, and definitions
- Balancing what is common and what is unique
Engagement process
How to participate

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Visit the engage site:

Overview

Who:

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
Ministerial Advisory
BC Museums Association

What: A community-led, province-wide engagement to inform the vision for a new museum or cultural centre celebrating the contributions of Canadians of South Asian heritages in B.C.

Where: Province-wide

Why: To highlight the history, culture, and contributions to British Columbia made by Canadians of diverse South Asian heristages.

How: See engagement process and how to participate

Category: Arts and Culture, Multi-language

Vision

The ways we work together on a shared vision for this new museum will become part of its legacy.

The engagement process is guided by the principles of equity, inclusion, accessibility, cultural safety, anti-racism, and anti-casteism. It provides multiple and different opportunities for participation, where communities, groups and individuals throughout the province can come together to discuss their vision for a museum, including its location, name, and mission.

Background

The Province committed to start work to advance a museum focussed on the contributions of Canadians of South Asian heritages to B.C. in 2017.

This initiative builds on the Punjabi Canadian Legacy Project (2014-2018) and the South Asian Canadian Legacy Project (2020-2022) led by the South Asian Studies Institute and supported through funding from the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch of government. This work includes a website, education curriculum supplements, a social history book, a travelling exhibition, historical site inventories, settler stories and community specific projects.

Additionally, government further celebrated and acknowledged the diversity and contributions of Canadians of South Asian heritages in British Columbia through Heritage BC. Heritage BC was contracted to administer the public nomination process for places of historical significance to Canadians of South Asian heritages in British Columbia. The nomination period in 2016 resulted in the naming of 15 historical sites throughout the province and a South Asian Canadians Map on Heritage BC.

Canadians of South Asian heritages have an extensive, diverse and inspirational histories in British Columbia dating back to the early 1900’s. The contributions of Canadians of South Asian heritages, both past and present, are integral to the legacy and continued success of our province. From endeavors in agriculture and forestry, to entrepreneurship and social activism British Columbians of South Asian descent have established and improved many aspects of our province. However, these accomplishments and contributions are not without great adversity.

It is integral to recognize that the province was not always welcoming to people with South Asian heritages. Canadian communities of South Asian heritages have been subject to extensive discrimination, exclusion and racism which continues to manifest. Looking back there are various established instances of harm to these communities: discrimination through the restriction of immigration for women, children and families of already arrived Canadians of South Asian heritages; exclusion through disenfranchisement and restrictions on the ability to come and go from Canada; as well as many overt acts of racism through work, education, and community.

The limitations and diminishment applied to Canadians of South Asian heritages through history were applied regardless of individual heritage, culture, or religion. As such, policy and legislation to harm and restrict Canadians of South Asian heritages was enacted through, at that time, anti-Asian immigration and sentiment. The diversity and unique identities of Canadians of South Asian heritages was reduced and minimized by colonial worldviews. This created a shared experience in establishing roots in B.C. for individuals and communities of South Asian heritages.

There has been work done to date to highlight this history and celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of Canadians of South Asian heritages. However, there is more needed to address these historical injustices, to fight discrimination and to create a more welcoming and inclusive province. The goal for this project is to gain insight from Canadian communities of South Asian heritages on what is important and meaningful for them. As well, to create a museum/cultural centre that celebrates, recognizes, and shares the stories, culture, and success of Canadians of South Asian heritages.

Considerations: learning, language, and definitions

No aspect of this engagement is simple, and no aspect of creating this new museum will be simple. It means that sharing and building on one another’s ideas in a spirit of genuine collaboration is vital. The name of the new museum – and how we refer to it during this engagement process – is a useful example.

The temporary working name “South Asian Canadian Museum” was intended to be a placeholder until a name is determined through this engagement. The terms “South Asian” or “South Asian Canadian” share the virtues and the shortcomings of any broad category: these categories reveal as much as they obscure. “South Asian” can be a unifying term and it can be a divisive term. Through initial engagement with the Ministerial Advisory and communities it became clear that the temporary working name “South Asian Canadian Museum” as a placeholder does not accurately reflect the diverse individuals and experiences that this initiative aims to celebrate. As such, the placeholder for this initiative is being updated to “Canadians of South Asian heritages in B.C. Museum” until an official name can be determined.

Naming an institution such as a new museum presents an opportunity to think deeply about the museum’s purpose. Knowing that no name will be perfect or preferred by everyone, what should this new museum be called? What “image” does the new museum’s name need to convey? These are the kinds of questions, along with the location, vision, and purpose of the new museum, that we imagine will energize the conversations during this engagement process.

Additionally, the definition of a museum/cultural centre comes into question when discussing the vision and purpose of this space. As individuals and communities share their culture, languages and heritages the vision may emerge as something other than a traditional museum model.

Definitions:

South Asian Canadian has been a broadly used term during the past 20 years by academics and others. Statistics Canada describes South Asian Canadians as a sub-group of Asian Canadians consisting of a range of ethnic, religious and linguistic groups whose ancestries, immigration histories and personal experiences include those with Bangladeshi, Bengali, East Indian, Goan, Gujarati, Hindu, Ismaili, Kashmiri, Nepali, Pakistani, Punjabi, Sikh, Sinhalese, South Asian, Sri Lankan and Tamil ancestry. South Asians may have been born in Canada or other parts of the world, but their heritage is associated with the Indian sub-continent.
Diaspora refers to the dispersion or spread of a people from their original homeland.
Community-led: when we use this term, we are referring to communities engaging amongst themselves, within their spaces in ways that work for them to discuss aspects of the project specific to their perspective, experiences, and vision.

Balancing what is common and what is unique

We are seeking feedback from a wide and diverse range of perspectives to carefully balance what is shared, and what is unique and distinctive, between and within particular communities.

We will work together to design this process. Words, places, images, calendars for events, languages, and other elements of the process will need to be considered with great care and respect. The guidance of communities will be very important on these and other matters.

Read the What We’ve Heard So Far Report (PDF, 1MB)

There has been significant engagement since phase 2 launched on April 2, 2024. The What We’ve Heard So Far report provides insight and an overview of early results. These results are what we have heard to date and will be further informed by additional engagement. All engagement findings will be released as part of a final What We Heard Report in early 2025.

Initial themes and findings from the What We’ve Heard So Far Report provide a variety of perspectives and ideas on how a museum could emerge. Many communities have and continue to participate in engagement. However, early results indicate that there are underrepresented community voices through the current methods. To better reach those voices and further broaden engagement, a more intentional and focused engagement will take place until December 2024.

Engagement process

How a museum is created plays a role in the museum future culture. This engagement process has been designed and shaped by different communities, groups and individuals and will continue to be refined in ways that make sense to those communities, groups and individuals. The process has been designed to be inclusive, transparent and multi-faceted – and responsive to feedback.

This engagement will not focus on curatorial content (what the museum will and won’t feature). That stage will come much later and will also be determined by communities. What this engagement will focus on is determining the vision for the new museum:

What should be its purpose(s)?
A museum and archive? A community gathering place? An interactive space or something more?
What might we call the museum?
Where should it be located?

To share your thoughts, please complete the online survey.

The process is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. The engagement process has been shaped with strategic inputs and guidance from a Ministerial Advisory drawn from members of various communities with a stake in this conversation.

As such, early engagement findings indicate a more intentional and diverse representation of Canadians of South Asian heritages is needed. To address underrepresented perspectives, the ministry is partnering with Elevate Consulting to facilitate engagement sessions with communities.

We are grateful to the BC Museums Association (BCMA) and their successful delivery of the Community Grant Program to support community-led conversations. Although the grant program is now closed (effective August 30), the BCMA has supported engagement for many communities and organizations throughout the province. A portion of these engagement sessions is reflected in the What We’ve Heard So Far Report (PDF, 1MB). Full results will be in the final What We Heard Report.

How to participate

There are multiple ways for communities, individuals, and organizations to contribute their thoughts and ideas about the museum/cultural centre. See details on engagement opportunities to submit your thoughts and ideas.

Possible ways for you to share your thoughts may include: