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Peace and Reconciliation Centre

Research projects

Small pox

A sickness no one could escape: Small pox

A Sickness No One Could Escape: Examining Disease in the Pacific Northwest

Researchers: Dr. Keith Carlson (UFV), Dr. John Lutz (UVic)
Research assistants: Michaela Sapielak, Holly Janzen, Maaria Zafar, Aliyah Friesen, and Jackie Drummond

UFV’s Peace and Reconciliation Centre launched a research project that looked at the spread and impact of disease amongst Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest. The purpose of this research is to investigate where these epidemics came from, how they were spread, vaccination efforts, to what extent they affected Indigenous people then, and how past epidemics still create challenges for Indigenous people today.

Small pox PDF

 

Voices of the valley

Voices of the Valley - The Reach Gallery Museum

UFV PARC Collaboratorium summer student research internship project, 2021
Research assistants: Maaria Zafar

A collaborative project with the Reach Gallery Museum working with the Curator of Historical Collections to build upon research and community-engaged processes already underway. Ongoing research identified local communities and histories that have been minimized, misrepresented, or altogether left out of public record. Research also focused on how waves of immigration to the Fraser Valley led to patterns of displacement, opportunity, tension, and complementarity. 

Voices of the valley

Kwantlen First Nation Digital Archive

UFV PARC Collaboratorium summer student research internship project, 2021
Research assistant: Olivia Daniel

This project created a digital archive for Kwantlen First Nation. Community materials found in the existing archive, as well as through digital archives across British Columbia were scanned, indexed, and organized into a database, making this valuable information more accessible for the Kwantlen First Nation and its membership. 

 

Allyship

Allyship and reconciliation building

UFV PARC Collaboratorium summer student research internship project, 2021
Research assistants: Brooke Higginbottom and Paul Jakhu

This project focused on locating existing allyship programs in the region offered by non-profit organizations and government/ministry entities. Research assistancts participated in several of these programs in order to assess their quality, identify gaps, and co-develop programs with the Stó:lō communities and UFV faculty programs and initiatives to fill those gaps in addition to conducting 23 interviews with allyship program coordinators and Stó:lō community members to obtain a better understanding of allyship in the region.

 

Labour movement

History of labour movement in the Fraser Valley

UFV PARC Collaboratorium summer student research internship project, 2021
Research assistants: Kelsey Flemming

In collaboration with Heritage Abbotsford, this research project studied the history of labour movements in the Fraser Valley, with a focus on indigenous workers on hop and tobacco farms in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Research pertaining to Hudson’s Bay trading trends was compiled while further investigating Indigenous wages at HBC forts and other colonial enterprises and how settler actions and laws impacted traditional Indigenous farming methods.