For 40 years, Cathy English has honoured the stories and memories of Revelstoke’s collective history.
When she first came to Revelstoke with her husband, Ken, in 1978 English worked a few different jobs. Then, in January 1983 she applied for a job at the Revelstoke Museum and Archives. Revelstoke was hosting the BC Winter Games, and the museum had received a small grant to do a display of sports history in the community.
Knowing nothing of exhibit design, English pieced together a small display showcasing the history of sport in Revelstoke.
“A lot of early museums were what you’d call visible storage,” she explained. “Sometimes you’d put things into themes. So, we did this themed sports exhibit and as I remember it went over fairly well.”
Reading through old journals recently, English came across an entry she had written around the time she applied for the museum job. English had written about the importance of local connection playing a factor in her decision to work at the museum. “That was language I was using too, and that really spoke to me – the importance of understanding your history and telling the stories of the community and I’m still doing that 40 years later,” English said “That concept of why I wanted to work here is still very valid.”
Changing the narrative: re-learning Revelstoke’s history
For centuries, Revelstoke held a white-washed narrative of its history that effectively erased the story of Indigenous Peoples in the area, English explained.
“When I first started working, the line was there were no Indigenous Peoples here because they didn’t like the snow and they were afraid of the mountains, which is just bullshit basically,” she said. “That was the line. People were happy with that, it suited them well.”
About 20 years ago, English said that inaccuracy was challenged. After meeting with Sinixt people and others, as well as reviewing Eileen Delehanty Pearkes’ first edition of The Geography of Memory, English said white settler knowledge of Indigenous history in the region was shifting. That was a turning point for the museum, although it would take time to learn how to interpret a new historical narrative and build relationships with the Sinixt. English points to news coverage of a Sinixt man, Jim, who was shot by a white settler named Sam Hill in 1894 as an example of how Indigenous Peoples, and their way of life, were minimized and often ignored.
“At first they weren’t going to have a trial,” English recalled. “They basically forced Jim’s wife [Adeline] to come testify, but the interpreter didn’t understand the language, so it wasn’t a good interpretation.”
At the time, settlers often lumped Sinixt People in with Coleville Tribes in Washington, holding a belief they shouldn’t be allowed to cross into Canada.
“There was absolutely no understanding of traditional territory and their way of life. The more I learn, the more I am able to put things into context. I’m still learning. I think that’s an important thing about reconciliation. It’s not a box you tick off. It’s a process, and that process should never end.”
One of the responsibilities of museums is taking part in reconciliation with Indigenous People’s of Canada, English noted. It’s listed in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action and he BC Museum’s association is working closely with museums to help build an understanding of the processes of reconciliation, English said.
Most of the Sinixt artifacts the Revelstoke Museum holds are lithics and stone implements. Some of the artifacts are on display as part of the museum’s permanent exhibit, Sinixt: People of the Place of the Bull Trout.
“We’re working on an agreement with the Sinixt about how to manage what we do have here… There are no size fits all for repatriation or working with Indigenous Nations, you have to see what works in your area.”
Stories from 1910 Avalanche, Mount Cartier Ukrainian Community shape Revelstoke’s historical landscape
Unraveling the stories of marginalized groups is a theme running through our conversation. In her four decades as museum curator, English said she is proudest of the project commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 1910 avalanche at Roger’s Pass in 2010. One of the most devastating moments in Revelstoke’s history, the avalanche killed 58 men, 32 of them from Japan.
“We worked with a local Japanese couple, Tomo Fujimura and his then wife, Yuko,” English said. “They’re the ones that really brought in the idea of how we do this, because the majority of people who died were Japanese.”
English said Yuko came up with the idea of origami paper cranes, and soon everyone in Revelstoke was in on the project. Students at the schools, people living at Mount Cartier and Moberly Manor, even the Canadian Armed Forces members stationed at Roger’s Pass for the winter. Tomo went to Japan to talk to people about the event. He came back with 1,000 tiny origami cranes.
Prior to the event, the family of one of the men connected with English via the Japanese consulate. At the memorial the family led a procession of people, all holding on to strings of paper cranes, from the Parks Canada on Third Street down Mackenzie and to the Plaza.
“We had 500 candles for people to take to light. We ran out of candles. It was extremely moving. To me, honouring people is the most important thing I do. If that’s what I’ve done then that makes my work meaningful.”
Another proud moment for English is the Stories Beneath the Surface exhibit, also on permanent display at the museum. The exhibit began as a way to recognize the area south of Revelstoke known to most as “the flats” which was once a community of mainly Ukrainian people. The community was destroyed when the Hugh Keenleyside Dam was built in the late 1960s as part of the Columbia River Treaty.
“I thought it was a really important story to tell, especially when [the Canadian and U.S. Governments] are renegotiating the treaty. The stories of unfairness, how people were treated. I thought those were very important to tell,” English said.
Looking forward, English has plans to continue amplifying the voices of those history has long ignored or forgotten. She is currently working on a new exhibit, Reclaimed Voices, that will share stories of women and other minority groups, told through their eyes.
“Most of the stories are filtered through the dead white British men,” she explained. “The newspaper stories were written by white men, and council was made up of white men. So you really have to dig for those stories, but they’re there. The point of this exhibit is to say, ‘what have we missed?’.”
Originally scheduled for Dec. 6, a Brown Bag History Talk celebrating Cathy’s 40 years as museum coordinator has been postponed. Event details are TBD.
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