[BCMA] Chinese Legacies exhibit begins travel circuitfromRevelstoke Railway Museum

Sat Jan 15 16:51:57 PST 2011

Hi Bill,

    Truly appreciate both your kind comments and discourse on those two topics. Great to know that among our BCMA members are those who take the time to ponder and enlarge on such historical and museological matters. This Listserve is an inspired means of sharing such concerns, ideas, and suggested solutions.

    Please see my further thoughts below:
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv. 
  To: bcma at lists.vvv.com 
  Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2011 6:02 PM
  Subject: Re: [BCMA] Chinese Legacies exhibit begins travel circuitfromRevelstoke Railway Museum

  January 13, 2011

  Dan:

  I most appreciate your last two notes (Human Rights museum and Revelstoke traveling exhibit).  In reading through them, I decided to share my mother’s story and to discuss your notes.

  Born and raised in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, of ‘the’ coal mining center of eastern Canada and subject of the book The Company Town, my mother made the following comment after seeing the Loretta Lynn story, Coal Miner’s Daughter – “they weren’t poor – they had a horse”.  She also mentioned her aunt, who raised her, having a cup on the mantle ready with what coin she could scrape together so that she could buy a Micmac basket from someone even poorer and inconceivably more oppressed.  Glace Bay was virtually owned by the Dominion Coal Mining Company.  One did not have to be from somewhere else or of a particular religious order in order or belief system to be oppressed, you just had to be poor, and, there was a lot of that going around and even more so now. Always enjoy visiting Sydney, Baddeck, Glace Bay, Louisbourg, and environs. A long fascinating history through many eras, but none as heart-wrenching as the story of coalmining or as upbeat as how successive populations there overcame so much economic and social upheaval.  Two very good friends of mine, one a historian, the other a Union official who hail from Cape Breton influenced a lot of my own research and exhibit work during the 70's & 90's. Those exercises gave me much to think about concerning towns of single industry, which, of course, is a hallmark of BC as well as most of Canada.. Indeed, I'm not at all surprised at hearing of your family's reaching-out to those less secure. Note how Newfoundlanders today give more per capita to charity than any other province - its a function, I believe, of class and religion, in addition to small town living. And let's not forget the Miner's Museum at Glace Bay. Not at all maudlin nor self-seeking in its portrayals of miners, their families, and the coal operation itself. Shows what a broader theme structure can do for display storylines. (Ever hear a "Men of the Deep" choral concert?)

   I would suggest that instead of funding a museum of ‘human rights’ that the $200 millions of dollars should have been spent on funding all the smaller local museums in the country who could research and exhibit elements relating to that theme.  It would be far more effective to spend the money more widely than to place all of that money into mid-city architecture.  Themes of oppression are often the only way to get funding these days.  I would have taken $50 million of that money to spend on text books featuring this theme so they could be used in schools, translated into all the languages of the world and widely distributed.  I am keenly disturbed by the lack of knowledge of the general public of our Canadian mosaic, and indeed, the world mosaic, and how it was achieved.  But, architecture wins, shock value wins (especially in architecture), and the local construction contractors – from every ethnic and oppressed back ground in the world (after all, it is Canada) - are kept busy and paying mortgages. Or, as Slim Pickens said in Dr. Strangelove while riding ‘the bomb’ to eternity – Yeehaw! But, lamenting money already spent is useless. You're really fighting City Hall here, Bill - in addition to big money, big politics, and big agendas. Any one of these is able to derail good proposals such as yours, for while they definitely would have lasting impact over a much wider audience, they wouldn't make the big splash or moment. Cynical I know, but true nonetheless. This is where our museums associations fail us; they are so focused on finding the key to individual institutional survival that they either fail to see any the broad social picture or remember how really narrow the purpose of museums is. That then leaves the former to big outside promoters and the latter to a scattering of external small time opportunists. 

  While I do agree with the evaluation by you that it is the shock value being developed for the Revelstoke exhibit, it is no different than many of the other exhibits that address such issues throughout Canada in our museums.  I am not averse to presenting the shocking in order to awaken awareness.  What I see as more important than your critique of the exhibit, which has validity, is the fact that the museum pulled together an exhibit that they want to share with the rest of British Columbians.  They are a smallish museum, yet they have something to offer to us all.  It has already brought controversy, as evinced by your dialogue, which is great. While personally having studied the Chinese diaspora extensively, I am more than aware that the general public has no idea or only vague ideas of the ethnic Chinese input into the development of British Columbia, let alone their context in the rest of the world.  If this exhibit can open the eyes of the people of British Columbia to the idea that white middle class thoughts are the only thoughts, then more power to them (many cultures have no context for the type of history that is presented in museums or in history books).  However, as you so rightly point out, shock value has a tendency to cover over other shocking elements of equal value within different contexts.  For example, we forget that poverty was the main spur to the development of Canada through the exploitation of the poor for their labour, another point that I believe you are hinting at.  Did the wealthy purposefully pit groups against each other in order to make it look like one group of poor people were somehow different than another group of poor people?  This tendency to shock value tends to superficially fragment our society into competing groups in a museum and a general cultural setting when actually we are becoming more homogenous – we use the same media, eat similar foods, wear similar clothes, have similar pets, cars, furniture, etc., etc. and live in similar houses.  You have stated:  “A valid historical account in the exhibition would reveal the complexity of these encounters between human populations”.   However, would this awaken interest in the average viewer of an exhibit?  It could, but is a much greater challenge, as it requires more research and collation of ideas – something that few museums have the ability to financially command. You have to recall, Bill, that talk is cheap. Almost all local museums in Canada are close to a university or college wherein historians lurk.  Bet that many can be enticed to give corresponding lectures, workshops, panels, etc. for token honouraria. They love the attention. Also, many of the smaller museums in Canada are starting from the point of having no knowledge or sympathy towards the historical cultural variances within their own community, as our school text books fail miserably to elucidate or to enlighten people about this history.  For example, twenty years ago, I found exhibitions of First Nations material in small museums in communities with large First Nation populations that were very limited, often a board with arrow points in a circle or some such, with very little understanding.  But, this is changing.  Similarly, it is changing for the Chinese and a few other ethnic groups.  But, this requires research and the ability to carry out presentations, which means having the financial ability to carry out this work. See above.

   Many of the museums in Canada (and elsewhere) are research poor, as it is always easier to obtain Capital (building) funding over Operational funding.  A multi-million dollar building is easier to build than a research and publishing program or, to research elements of museum collections that are considered mundane or not in the ‘mandate’ that could disseminate greater amounts of information and educate larger amounts of people.  If I ever had the chance to look at that $200 million dollar investment (for starters) into the Human Rights museum, I would have moved it into the smaller existing museums, rather than put it into a new centralized, architecturally aesthetically intriguing, bank. Happy to help you distribute it, for a token honourarium, of course!

  Thank you Dan for a stimulating discussion, it is much appreciated.

  W.(Bill) G. Quackenbush, Curator

  Barkerville Historic Town,

  Box 19, Barkerville, B.C.  V0K 1B0

  Phone:  (250) 994-3302;  ext.25

  Fax: (250) 994-3435

  email: Bill.Quackenbush at barkerville.ca

  www.barkerville.ca

  From: bcma-bounces at lists.vvv.com [mailto:bcma-bounces at lists.vvv.com] On Behalf Of Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.
  Sent: January-12-11 5:02 PM
  To: bcma at lists.vvv.com
  Cc: Dan Gallacher
  Subject: Re: [BCMA] Chinese Legacies exhibit begins travel circuitfrom Revelstoke Railway Museum

  This press release is another example of a Museum sensationalizing a common historical occurrence in 19th Century industrial activity - the use of helot labour across new world settlements or frontiers - by zeroing-in on the most flagrant feature, exploiting others.

  Canada, among all new nations, has long had chronic capital and labour shortages, either forcing or encouraging managers and promoters to draw investments and workers from whatever sources they could.

  Most often the working hands came from regions where underemployed peasants were easily recruited by middlemen from their own ethnic or racial backgrounds, and then supervised in Canada by other middlemen of similar origins.

  Railway building was one prime example of this rush to employment; coal mining was another. And both were very dangerous occupations for the unskilled labour battalions as then were needed. Linguistic incompetency merely added to the risks, especially when ordered to set-off explosives or haul overburden down steep slopes. In short, all who built the railway or dug out coal were complicit in creating and maintaining really hazardous workplace environments - race or class notwithstanding.

  A valid historical account in the exhibition would reveal the complexity of these encounters between human populations, but as far as I can see from this press release, the shocking side of the story is the one chosen to portray events.

  Dan Gallacher  

    ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv. 

    To: BCMA at lists.vvv.com 

    Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 4:06 PM

    Subject: [BCMA] Chinese Legacies exhibit begins travel circuit from Revelstoke Railway Museum

    For Immediate Release

    January 11, 2011

    “Chinese Legacies: Building the Canadian Pacific Railway” exhibit begins travel circuit across the country

    Revelstoke, BC - 

    “Chinese Legacies” began as a collaborative exhibit project between the Revelstoke Railway Museum and the Revelstoke Museum & Archives.   These two institutions teamed up to create exhibits on a significant yet previously unexplored facet of the railway and community history of this region. The joint project that became the “Chinese Legacies” exhibit, was made possible thanks to generous grants from BC Hydro, the Vancouver Foundation, the Columbia Basin Trust, and the BC Museums Association.  Generous financial support was also given by the Province of British Columbia through BC150 Years, a Ministry of Tourism, Sports, and the Arts initiative. 

    The exhibit, “Chinese Legacies: Building the Canadian Pacific Railway” , featured at the Revelstoke Railway Museum since 2008, explores the fascinating story of the Chinese labourers who contributed to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway between Port Moody and Craigellachie.  This presentation of their travel to British Columbia, their living and working conditions and the contribution they made to the construction of the railway has been visited by thousands over the past two and a half years and is now set to travel to other museum venues, beginning in 2011.    Revelstoke Museum and Archives continues to host their exhibit “Chinese Legacies: Revelstoke’s Chinese Community” at its museum location in downtown Revelstoke.  This companion to the Railway Museum exhibit  explores the large Chinese community that prospered for many years in Revelstoke and features the Kwong family who played a prominent role in the early history of Revelstoke. 

    Several thousand Chinese men worked on the CPR mainline from Port Moody to Craigellachie, and it is estimated that between 600 and 2,220 of these workers died as a result of accidents, disease, and starvation.  The Inland Sentinel newspaper, originally published at Yale, has many articles about the Chinese labourers, and while many people believed that their presence was necessary to construct the railway, they were greatly resented by the white population, and suffered a great deal of discrimination.  Their wages were half those of white men doing the same jobs, and they were often exploited by their crew bosses.  

    Once the CPR was completed in 1885, many of the Chinese labourers were left destitute.  Quite a few of them settled in Revelstoke, where they worked mainly as cooks, servants, laundrymen, and laborers.  In 1901, there were 113 Chinese people living in Revelstoke, close to one-tenth of the population.  It is interesting to note that of those 113 people; only one was a woman, although half of the men were married.  This was a result of the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants, making it very costly for men to bring their wives to Canada.  The community was a vibrant one, however, and continued to thrive for many years. 

    The Revelstoke Railway Museum is pleased to announce that the first stop for the travelling exhibit will be at Exporail, in Saint Constant, Quebec, from January 15 to May 29, 2011.  Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, has become the largest railway museum in Canada and one of the most significant ones in the world.  The story of the Chinese railway workers speaks to our national story and is suitable for a wide-ranging audience in communities all across the country.  Features of the exhibit include a railway workers’ campsite diorama, a slide presentation of historical photographs, original artifacts, some on loan from the Port Moody Station Museum, and text available in English, French, and Mandarin.  Expressions of interest from potential host venues include the Prince George Railway & Forestry Museum, Prince George, BC, the Port Moody Station Museum, and the Copperbelt Mining & Railway Museum, in the Yukon.  Additional resources and visual displays accompany the exhibit that will be available for travel until December 2014.

    Recognition of the Chinese workers’ contribution to the railway’s construction has recently been a subject of discussion in the media following the Last Spike’s 125th Anniversary celebrations in 2010 and this exhibit joins other individuals and organizations in their efforts to educate Canadians on this significant aspect of our nation’s past.  It is also hoped that this exhibit will encourage various communities to recognize the inheritance of nation-building evident in many cultures across the country. 

    The Revelstoke Railway Museum is western Canada’s premiere railway museum presenting railway heritage in the heart of the Columbia Mountains, at its main location in downtown Revelstoke, as well as at the site of the driving of the Last Spike at Craigellachie, BC, 40 kilometres west on the Trans Canada Highway.  The museum gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the Museums Assistance Program, ‘Access and National Outreach’, Department of Canadian Heritage for making this travelling exhibit opportunity possible. 

    For more information please contact:

    Jennifer Dunkerson

    Executive Director

    Revelstoke Railway Museum

    1-877-837-6060

    director.railway at telus.net

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