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
Noel Stewart to Alice Ravenhill (Sept.4, 1941)
Stewart writes to inform Ravenhill that as acting Principal of St. George’s Indian Residential School, he has just received a visit from several high-ranking government officials from Ottawa. He tells her that there is less and less time devoted to crafts at the school, largely because he and other interested teachers are swamped with work due to chronic understaffing.
Noel Stewart
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/1/R19)
Sept.4, 1941
Unknown to Alice Ravenhill (May.4, 1941)
An unknown representative of the Okanagan Society for the Revival of Indian Arts and Crafts (OSRIAC) expresses regret that Ravenhill will not be able to travel to the Okanagan to visit Inkameep. S/he informs her that the OSRIAC was formed to collaborate with the British Columbia Indian Arts and Crafts Welfare Society (BCIACWS), not to supersede it. The writer expresses regret that the BCIACWS will not continue to support the artistic development of Francis Batiste (Sis-hu-lk). Finally, s/he mentions fundraising efforts to send pupils from Inkameep on a trip to Victoria.
Alice Ravenhill
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/1/R19)
May.4, 1941
Noel Stewart to Alice Ravenhill (July 26, 1941)
Stewart, in reply to Ravenhill’s previous inquiry as to providing artwork from his pupils for an art show in Victoria, indicates that all their art is currently out being sold or displayed elsewhere. He mentions almost meeting up with Anthony Walsh, but the latter’s bus didn’t stop. Stewart informs her he has been made the acting Principal at St. George’s and complains about his predecessor, Ft. Lett. He informs her which printer he used to produce “Meet Mr. Coyote” and how they facilitated the images by using linoleum cuts.
Noel Stewart
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/I/R19)
July 26, 1941
Anthony Walsh to Alice Ravenhill (May.6, 1941)
Walsh mentions the artistic progress of a former student named Johnny, whose work is being sold and solicited. He suggests a couple changes to “The Tale of the Nativity” and asks Ravenhill if she can get Major Bullock-Webster to arrange for moving pictures to be taken of the plays and photos of the boys in their costumes. He also mentions that the topic of the “Revival of Indian Arts and Crafts” came up recently in a meeting with the Summerland Board of Trade and that, as a result, his students at Inkameep have been invited to put on “an evening of Indian plays.”
Anthony Walsh
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/I/R19)
May.6, 1941
Anthony Walsh to Alice Ravenhill (April 20, 1941)
Anthony Walsh writes that he has attached pictures of artwork by Sis-hu-lk (Frances Baptiste) to this letter that he asks Alice Ravenhill to send on to the Vancouver Art Gallery once she has looked at them. He mentions a Swiss tapestry artist, Miss Kranstoever, who has visited the Inkameep school and produced a study of the Okanagan Indians and urges Ravenhill to invite this artist to exhibit her work at the Gallery. Walsh also refers to "the Indian Committee" [the Okanagan Society for the Revival of Indian Arts and Crafts], which he says is taking shape, and to "our coming play" ["An Indian Nativity Play"] which was performed the following Friday.
Anthony Walsh
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/I/R19)
April 20, 1941
SFBCIAC Scrapbook, Page Twenty-Nine
Further clippings relating to the publication and successful reception of "Meet Mr. Coyote," a series of ten legends belonging to the Thompson Tribe that was illustrated by Noel Stewart's students at St. George's Indian Residential School at Lytton, B.C. and published by the British Columbia Indian Arts and Crafts Welfare Society in 1941.
The Society for Furtherance of B.C. Indian Arts and Crafts
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/I/R19)
The Daily Province; The Kamloops Sentinel
Dec.24, 1941
SFBCIAC Scrapbook, Page Twenty-Eight
Two news clippings announcing the publication of "Meet Mr. Coyote," a series of ten legends belonging to the Thompson Tribe near Lytton, B.C. that was illustrated by Aboriginal students in Noel Stewart's junior class at St. George's Indian Residential School.
The Society for the Furtherance of B.C. Indian Arts and Crafts
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/I/R19)
Victoria Daily Times
Dec.13, 1941
SFBCIAC Scrapbook, Page Twenty-One
A review of "The Tale of the Nativity," a story written by the Aboriginal children under Anthony Walsh's tutelage at the Inkameep Indian Day School in Oliver, B.C. and illustrated by Francis Baptise (Sis-hu-lk) that appeared in the "The School"
The Society for the Furtherance of B.C. Indian Arts and Crafts
Royal BC Museum, BC Archives (F/I/R19)
The B.C. Historical Quarterly
1940