British Columbia History

Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, guest editor of this issue, is the creator of doukhobor.org, a website dedicated to sharing stories about Doukhobor culture and history, and making research materials more accessible. We are pleased that he was able to spend ti

Move over Pacific dogwood and Stellar's jay—make room for a new provincial symbol. A fossilized marine reptile that lived 80 million years ago, when BC was mostly underwater, is now the province's official fossil emblem. The fossilized remains of an

I am a Doukhobor. I was born in Grand Forks in 1940 and raised there. My paternal grandfather came to Canada in 1899, at the age of 12, aboard the SS Lake Huron with Doukhobors from Russia. The Doukhobors were pacifists and left Russia because of rel

In the early twentieth century, the Doukhobors established a vast communal fruit-growing enterprise at Grand Forks. Not only did these pacifist agriculturalists maintain extensive, attractive, and productive orchards, they were also at the forefront

This is an excerpt from Eileen's latest work, Geography of Memory: Reclaiming the Cultural, Natural, and Spiritual History of the Snayackstx (Sinixt) First People. It was published in 2022 by Rocky Mountain Books. Find it at your local independent bo

A large thank you to Twin Rivers Elementary School administrators and staff and to Peter Evdokimoff for his time and wisdom. The city of Castlegar has long been synonymous with the history of the Doukhobor people in the West Kootenay. The fabric of t

The individual data from Canada's 1931 census, released on June 1, 2023, open new possibilities for understanding British Columbian society between the two world wars. We can learn about where people came from (most non-Indigenous adults in BC were n

Born in 1859 in Russia, Peter Vasil'evich Verigin assumed leadership of Doukhobors in the Caucasus in 1886. Exiled to North Russia and Siberia for 16 years, he rejoined his followers in Canada in 1902. After a substantial loss of homestead lands in S

Rob Chursinoff is a Doukhobor born and raised in the West Kootenay. We are excited that he spent time with Aimee Greenaway to share how his novel The Descendants (Nightwood Editions, 2022) was shaped by his experiences and Doukhobor history. Aimee Gr

On February 1 in Castlegar, and on February 2 in Grand Forks, the provincial government apologized for historic wrongs to the children and survivors of the Sons of Freedom community in British Columbia. Attorney General Niki Sharma apologized to thos

Our teachings and ceremonies—rights, regalia, songs, prayers—are not new. They are at least 15 to 20 generations old. They are put in place to cleanse, to heal, to strengthen, and to remind young people that we are related to all living things, and t

Many people can relate to the concept of having European ancestors who made sacrifices so that their children and grandchildren may live a more privileged life as Canadian settlers. As new generations succeed them, these stories can blur with time, b

Anyone who has spent hours ensconced in historical documents and archives likely will have experienced the disappointments and delights of finding something not looked for. Those mixed emotions have twice been mine in connection with the First World

The Trail Historical Society was organized in 1953 when a small group of local history buffs met at Elsie Turnbull's home to discuss ways and means to protect and preserve our community's history. There was a consensus that there was interest in the