Fraser Valley – The BC Museums Association Awards were handed out, virtually, on Thursday.
Among the award winners:
Award of Merit: Excellence in Social Action: Stó:lō Aboriginal Skills & Employment Training (SASET)
Nominees Adrienne Silver and the team at Stó:Lō Aboriginal Skills & Employment Training (SASET) have been advancing reconciliation and inclusivity through their training program. The Employer Wage Subsidy program works to hire secondary and post-secondary students for temporary employment, with an emphasis on providing work experience and developmental learning for in-school youth. Through the Summer Employment Program, Heritage Abbotsford Society (HAS) experienced the support and care that SASET provides to both employers and workers first hand; stating that HAS “has been able to not “just” build programming that meets with (the goals and directives of the) TRC and UNDRIP and make necessary systemic changes, but it has also provided us with the opportunity to mentor individuals and support Indigenous culture” through their student hires from SASET.
Award of Merrit WINNER: The Reach Gallery Museum
“The Reach preserves and shares the stories of Abbotsford’s rich cultural heritage and showcases the best in arts from inside and outside the community. The Reach’s Semá:th Xo:tsa project, in partnership with Stó:lō collaborators, resulted in the publication of a children’s book, exhibition and community programs about the drainage of Sumas Lake in 1924 to create additional farmland for settlement. The project renounces the celebratory settler narrative to focus on the enduring and profound impact drainage had on the lives and livelihood of the Stó:lō people.”
Awards of Merit Nominees included Chilliwack Museum & Archives
“The Chilliwack Museum & Archives aimed to bring multiple demographics of their community together to highlight the talent and experiences of Chilliwack during the COVID-19 pandemic through the Creative in Quarantine Exhibition.”
