INDIVIDUALS SELF-IDENTIFYING AS INDIGENOUS – VISITORS PASS FREE

Imagine being born at the end of W.W.1, living in a house without electricity or plumbing, on a reserve near Chase, B.C. Baby Mary Allen was one generation away from experiencing traditional Secwepemc living. Her parents spoke Secwepemcstin. They had seen their world change and Mary Allen was going to witness more changes.

At the age of six Mary was sent off to Kamloops Indian Residential School. Besides learning how to steal food at the school, Mary learned another skill - how to lie her way out of a situation if caught.

An arranged marriage, widowhood, remarriage, and widowhood for a second time followed Mary Thomas' education at Kamloops Residential School. A journey of healing began when Mary Thomas found soul mate Frank Krauchi and the couple moved to Kelowna. In Kelowna Mary met Kelowna Museum Curator Ursula Surtees and was offered a job doing research to create a school program.

"The more I learned about my culture, the values and philosophy…it started to change me. I began to change and that’s what I call my journey to healing," Dr. Mary Thomas said.

Dr. Mary Thomas recognized that all people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, had to work together to solve conservation and environmental problems.

Meet a few of the people who Dr. Mary Thomas influenced and see how her work continues through them.

This exhibit runs until September 16th, 2023.
Photo credit: Dr. Robert D. Turner

Waterways - Past Present and Future ~

A travelling exhibit from the Kelowna Museums Society

Waterways explores the nature of our relationship with water – from the impact of development and climate change on the environment to the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in ensuring all living things have clean water, now and in the future. In keeping with syilx environmental ethics, the Okanagan Waterways Project reminds us that we all have a responsibility to work towards building and upholding the sustainability of water for healthy ecosystems and for future generations. 

Waterways is a collaborative undertaking between the University of British Columbia Okanagan, Elders and Knowledge Keepers of the syilx Okanagan community, Kelowna Museums Society, Okanagan Basin Water Board, and the Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program.

This exhibit runs until Saturday, September 17th.