Alice Ravenhill to John Laurie (Sept.15, 1941)
A useful overview of the goals of the British Columbia Indian Arts and Crafts Welfare Society (BCIACWS) and how it came to be. Ravenhill responds to Laurie’s request for information on how to start up a Committee similar to by touching on the BCIACWS’ history; she advises him on steps he can take to make contacts within the provincial and federal governments. Mentions repeatedly the apathetic and contemptuous attitudes of the majority in Victoria towards Aboriginal people, as well as the steps she and the Committee have taken to try and combat these conceptions. She also discusses how policies drafted and enacted by the United States around interacting with Aboriginal People can function as useful models for shaping Canadian policy.
Alice Ravenhill
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/!/R19)
Sept.15, 1941
John Laurie to Alice Ravenhill (Sept.11, 1941)
Laurie, a high school teacher in Alberta, writes to Ravenhill requesting information on how to start up a society similar to the British Columbia Indian Arts and Crafts Welfare Society (BCIACWS). His interest in such a committee, he writes, is motivated by preserving the art and bettering the economic welfare of “the Stonies at Morely.” He heard of such initiatives through Anthony Walsh.
John Laurie
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/1/R19)
Sept.11, 1941