Where do you come from?

Cortes Island Museum and Klahoose First Nations, with funding from Canada 150, has launched a series of events, under an umbrella title “Where do you come from”, free for all participants, to celebrate Canada 150 Anniversary. Please check Tideline—www.cortesisland.com, and the Cortes Museum website—www.cortesmuseum.com, for more details on these events.

Latest update on Canada 150//Where do you come from? series of events:

hɛkʷ čɛ θ tuwa? // Where do you come from?

Project Update

The island is radiant in all the colours and smells of autumn and we have had a lot to reflect on and to be grateful for as we celebrate this harvest season. Over at the Museum, our harvest consists of a beautiful exhibit on Refuge Cove, the beginnings of Wild Cortes, a new natural history space at Linnaea Farm, and a fascinating exploration into our personal and collective histories with the “hɛkʷ čɛ θ tuwa? // Where do you come from?” project.

The “hɛkʷ čɛ θ tuwa? // Where do you come from?” project was born out of conversations between Klahoose Elder and Museum Board Member, Rose Hanson, her daughter, singer Brenda Hanson, and Brittany Baxter, our program director. As the rest of the country marked the passing of 150 years since the founding of the nation of Canada, we wanted to take this important opportunity to explore our past and present through the lens of Reconciliation in our community.

Over the summer we launched our Community Quilt Project, inviting island residents and visitors to think about our “Where do you come from?” theme and decorate 7.5″ x 7.5″ quilt squares in response. Although our official “hand-in deadline” has now passed, we still have a few weeks of measuring, pinning, and putting the quilt together. We will still be collecting squares until about November 20th, and invite all to pick one up at the Co-op Cafe or at the Museum and contribute to this work of art in progress. You can decorate your square at home or come to the Museum during our open hours (Friday/Sat 12-4pm) and make use of our art supplies and cozy work space.

In addition to the quilt, we’ve been hosting walks, youth and elder filmmaking workshops, and creative writing sessions, all of which have yielded powerful conversations and important relationship building. We are excited to continue these workshops into the fall. Coming up quickly on November 19th will be our rescheduled Blanket Exercise & Songwriting Workshop, a very special event taking place at the Klahoose Hall, where we will gather to learn about and reflect on the effects of colonization, residential schools, and work together to create songs based in the Klahoose language. We are so lucky to be working with amazing facilitators from Klahoose and Tla’amin. Registration for this event is limited, so email cimas@twincomm.ca as soon as you can to secure your spot.

Throughout the winter, Museum’s Program Director, Brittany Baxter, will be writing a series of blog posts for our website and Facebook that will share photos and stories from the project. Look for these in the coming months!

Here is the schedule of Where Do You Come From events:

Updated events:
● Sunday, November 19 (updated date) | Blanket Exercise & Songwriting Workshop, a very special event taking place at the Klahoose Hall
● November 20 (updated date) | Last day to bring your crafted Community Quilt squares to the Cortes Museum on Beasley Road

Watch for more events on Tideline and the Museum website.

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