VICTORIA, BC — Ring in Sikh Heritage Month with the Royal BC Museum, Saturday, April 1, with cultural displays and exhibitions, speakers, and learning opportunities.
In addition to musical performances and a Gatka presentation, a martial art that originated in Punjab in the 15th century, the Haq and History travelling exhibit will be on display in Clifford Carl Hall on the museum’s main floor. Haq and History was codeveloped by the Royal BC Museum and the South Asian Canadian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley and other cross-sectoral and community partners.
“We are thrilled to have Haq and History back for a short visit,” says Kim Gough, learning program developer with the Royal BC Museum. “This small but mighty travelling exhibition does such an incredible job of telling the stories of the early Punjabi immigrants who worked in British Columbia sawmills in the 1920s, what it was like to journey from Punjab to Canada in the 1950s, and even what it was like in the 1960s to source Indian food on the lower mainland.”
Visitors will be treated to a presentation from Dr. Rita Dhamoon on “Celebrating the Sikh Spirit”. Dhamoon, an associate professor at the University of Victoria, is the author of Identity/Difference Politics: How Difference is Produced and Why it Matters and has focused much of her career and research on important topics including culture, gender politics and feminism, intersectionality, and post-colonial and anti-colonial politics.
“We are so grateful to have Dr. Dhamoon come to speak. She spent her life delving into the ideas of identity, multiculturalism, nation-building and critical race studies, and I know she will bring with her important insights into what it means to celebrate the Sikh spirit,” says Gough.
Anyone interested in learning more about Sikh culture and heritage and what life was like for the earliest Punjabi immigrants is encouraged to check out the Learning Portal pathways The Punjabi Experience in British Columbia and Paldi.
Date: April 1, 2023
Time: 11 AM–2 PM
11 AM — Welcome from dignitaries
11:20 AM — “Celebrating the Sikh Spirit” by Dr. Rita Dhamoon
12 PM — Musical presentation
1 PM — Gatka presentation
Where: Main floor of the Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville St., Victoria, BC
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About the Royal BC Museum: The Royal BC Museum explores the province’s human history and natural history, advances new knowledge and understanding of BC, and provides a dynamic forum for discussion and a place for reflection. The museum and archives celebrate culture and history, telling the stories of BC in ways that enlighten, stimulate and inspire. Located in Victoria on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen (Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations), we are a hub of community connections in BC—on-site, offsite, and online—taking pride in our collective histories.
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