Tea & Tales 2017
ShareTea & Tales is a museum program that runs for seven weeks each summer. Every Tuesday from 2-4pm during July and August the museum hosts a afternoon tea and presents a tale on various topics relating to Pemberton's History. This year our theme is "Canada150" and will feature local presenters. Admission is $2.
The following videos are edited versions of each talk. For a copy of these or any of our Tea & Tale presentations please Contact Us.
July 11th: Pemberton Valley 1957- The MovieThe museum showed the Allen King documentary “Pemberton Valley 1957” on Tuesday July 11th to kick off our Canada 150 themed Tea & Tales program. Afterwards there was a short discussion about the state of Canada and Pemberton in 1957 and why this film still resonates with Pemberton Valley residents to this day. You can watch the full movie at www.pembertonmuseum.org/gallery/videos/general-videos/pemberton-valley-1957 Born 1930 in Vancouver, British Columbia during the Depression, King attended Henry Hudson Elementary School in Kitsilano. He graduated with honors from UBC with a degree in philosophy. He worked and lived in England for several years before returning to Vancouver to work as a production assistant at the CBC. He made several short films for TV before the breakthrough success of “Skid Row” a film about down and out men living rough on Vancouver’s poorest streets in 1956. “Pemberton Valley 1957” and “Skid Row” were among his earliest works. The Pemberton Valley is a lyrical look at life in rural B.C., focusing on a farm family and on the nearby First Nations settlement. These two films resonate today with their compassion and poetry. He says he became a documentary filmmaker because, "I used to have a fantasy everyone would see my films and be changed for the better. That's why you want to make films. King was a leader of the documentary technique known as cinema-verite (truthful cinema). He ran Allan King Films Limited in Toronto. King describes his style as "actuality drama – filming the drama of everyday life as it happens, spontaneously without direction, interviews or narrative". He says he strives to "serve the action as unobtrusively as possible" and does so by becoming very familiar with the environment and people he films, by paying particular attention to movement patterns, routines and light quality. King died from brain cancer on June 15, 2009, age 79, at his home in Toronto.Watch Video | |
Mt. Currie Schools-Saving Lil'wat Language and CultureThis weeks tea and tales was presented by Mámaya7 (Lois Joseph) and Tsínay̓a7 (Georgina Nelson), who told the story of how Mt.Currie schools were established to ensure Lil’wat children are immersed in their own language and culture. Since the 1960’s Georgina Nelson lobbied for funding for Lil’wat Nation to take over their own school and education system and has served on the Mt.Currie board of education for the past 35 years. Her belief is “without our language and culture we would no longer be Lil’wat”. She is a fluent speaker of the Lil’wat language and became one of the founders of the Ts̓zil Community School, now called the Xet̓ólacw Community School. She has also been involved with the First Nations Education Steering Committee – language sub-committee and has spent her life advocating for the inclusion of Lil’wat language and culture in all schools. She has spent her life supporting Lil’wat children and encouraging them to be proud of their heritage. She has travelled the world to share her story, including the UN to share how Lil’wat Nation is revitalizing the Ucwalmícwts language. Mámaya7 Lois Joseph started teaching right out of high school and received her education B.A. in 1986 after taking courses in the evening and during summer holidays. She has taught grades 4-7, high-school and adult education throughout her 30 years of teaching in schools. She also teaches Lil’wat language and traditional arts. In 1993 Lois developed a new dance group which is the Íswalh (loon) Dance Group. Over the years she trained many young children, youth and adults the dances and traditions specific to Lil’wat Nation. Lois is the manager for the Lil̓wat7úl Culture Center fully since 2005 and she has been sitting as a Mount Currie Band Councilor for the last 24 years and also sits as a Board of Director for the Squamish Líl̓wat Cultural Center in Whistler.Watch Video | |
Mt. Currie Schools - Saving Lil'wat Language and Culture - short versionThis is a short excerpt of the 2017 presentation at Tea & Tales by Mámaya7 (Lois Joseph) and Tsínay̓a7 (Georgina Nelson), who told the story of how Mt.Currie schools were established to ensure Lil’wat children are immersed in their own language and culture. Since the 1960’s Georgina Nelson lobbied for funding for Lil’wat Nation to take over their own school and education system and has served on the Mt.Currie board of education for the past 35 years. Her belief is “without our language and culture we would no longer be Lil’wat”.Watch Video | |
July 25: The Seed Potato Story with Roxy KuurneIn Pemberton, the potato is king! In fact, potatoes are also considered a most important food crop in Canada with over 4.7 million tonnes produced per year. Potatoes were first grown in Pemberton by the Lil’wat prior to the goldrush. By the early 1930’s seed potato production began in Pemberton and carries on to this day. Roxy Kuurne of Kuurne Farms and current president of the Pemberton Farmer’s Institute joined us to talk about the Seed Industry in Pemberton yesterday and today.Watch Video | |
August 1st: The Gold Rush & Canada in 1858The Gold Rush of 1858 passed through the region and Port Pemberton was established as a stopping house along the Douglas Trail. Over 30,000 gold rushers passed through the region making their way to the goldfields of Lillooet and beyond. Beyond the Gold Rush of 1858 there were other major events happening in Canada and in the world.Watch Video | |
Walking Lil'wat Traditional Territory with Yaqalatqa7 (Johnny Jones)Johnny is a Cultural Technician with the Lands and Resources Department and has spent his life walking and studying Lil'wat traditional territory. His traditional name means “weather changer” and he has spent his life promoting traditional knowledge and the stories about the land that sustains Lil’wat Nation. The land and the people are one. Johnny has contributed greatly to our understanding of Lil’wat Traditional Territory and often travels to conferences and gatherings to share his knowledge. He works with archaeologists, ethnographers and high school and university students to share his knowledge and to broden our understanding of Lil’wat territory.Watch Video | |
Pemberton in the World NewsEric Andersen is a local historian from Squamish who is no stranger to the Pemberton Museum. Eric is presenting a tale about Pemberton as seen through the lens of historic newspapers. Eric has presented several times at the museum and provided some wonderful original research about Pemberton and Squamish history.Watch Video | |
Eric Andersen World News - short versionEric Andersen is a local historian from Squamish who is no stranger to the Pemberton Museum. Eric presented a tale about Pemberton as seen through the lens of historic newspapers in 2017. In this short excerpt Eric talks about the BC and Klondike gold rushes, the 1918 Spanish flu and how the establishment of the Mt. Currie school was covered in national newspapersWatch Video | |
Aug 22 Flood ControlBrenda McLeod was raised in Pemberton from the age of 8 years old. Her parents Howard and Marion Ayers moved full time to Pemberton in the early 50's. Brenda is the current chair of the Pemberton Valley Dyking District and has a passion for local history including the history of the PFRA project. Brenda is also the chair of the museum and has supported the museum with her mother Marion for many years. The PFRA project of 1947-48 made massive physical changes to the Pemberton Valley though it may be hard to imagine the scale of this project at the time. This year is also the 70th anniversary of the Pemberton Valley Dyking District and it was formed as a result of the drainage and dyking of the valley.Watch Video |