Four copied maps showing the grease trail within traditional Haisla territory. One map is put together with different sheets in a patchwork style. The maps were prepared for the Haisla Land Claims Centre.
Four copied maps showing the grease trail within traditional Haisla territory. One map is put together with different sheets in a patchwork style. The maps were prepared for the Haisla Land Claims Centre.
Certificate honouring Moses Williams. Poppy image on bottom left corner, and gold seal on bottom right. In black frame.
Physical Condition
Good
Material
paper
glass
plastic
Height
1.5cm
Width
28cm
Length
22cm
Inscriptions
In honor of those members of the Haisla Nation who gave of themselves and their families to serve our home and native land. In honor of Moses Williams. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west-their spirits remain with us. Lest we forget from Haisla Nation
Accession Number
2019.62.15
Biographical Notes
Moses Williams attended the Kitamaat Village Day School, and then the Coqualeetza Residential School until the age of fifteen. Army recruiters conscripted Haisla men into the Canadian Army and Moses went in 1945. He was sent by train to the Canadian Forces' training camp at Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. He never shipped out overseas and the war ended. Moses and his wife Kay married in 1950, shortly after she arrived to teach at Kitamaat. They moved to Terrace in 1964. Moses worked as a carpenter, brick layer and fisherman. His wife Kay taught at Northwest Community College.
This fonds consists of materials created or collected by Gisela Mendel throughout her time in British Columbia, particularly during her tenure as the Museum's first curator (1969-1981). It is divided into three series:
Series 1: Photographs - approx. 330 photographs, negatives, and slides taken by Gisela Mendel, showing the local area, flora and fauna, Museum displays, Kitamaat Village and its residents, traditional Haisla cultural activities, etc.
Series 2: Kitimat Flora Collection - 12 boxes of pressed and dried flora from the local area, with associated information.
Series 3: Logbooks and scrapbooks - logbooks from Clague and Squirrel Mountains (1957-1969), accounts of Mendel family outings (1963-1968), scrapbook/photo album from Stikine road trip (1999), textual material and photos on regional hiking rails from binder on assembled by Gisela.
Series 4: Maps - 23 regional maps collected and annotated by Gisela.
ca. 10.5 cm textual material (logbooks, scrapbooks)
23 maps
History / Biographical
Gisela Heimbach Mendel was the first curator of the Kitimat Museum and Archives (then known as the Kitimat Centennial Museum). She was born in Germany in 1922 and worked as a pharmacist in East Prussia when the Russians invaded. She fled the Russians and immigrated to Canada in 1952 with her husband, Hans, and their children. Unhappy with the geography of Southern Ontario - in her words, she was a "mountain woman" - she chose Kitimat as her home.
In her earliest years in Kitimat (beginning 1956), Gisela collected botanical specimens for the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. She served as the first curator of the Kitimat Centennial Museum from the building's opening in 1969 until her retirement in 1981, when she and Hans moved to Smithers. Gisela was responsible for not only showcasing local art and history, but building a strong and varied permanent collection of artifacts and archival items upon which future curators could build.
As she was working in a relatively young community, town history was not considered a priority so much as regional history, natural history and Haisla First Nations cultural traditions, which Gisela documented with great intensity. One of her projects was creating an ethno-botanical dictionary with the help of Haisla elders, identifying the Haisla names and traditional uses for various plants. In 1972, the Northern Sentinel reported that each weekend Gisela made the rounds of her secret botanical hunting grounds to replace the display of floral specimens in her exhibits. She was a tremendous record-keeper and journalist, had a great life of the outdoors, and developed many close friendships in Kitimat and Kitamaat Village. Her thirst for information was incredible, and the Museum and the community benefitted immensely from her passion for gathering and recording knowledge. In the 1990s she received the Award of Merit from the BC Museums Association in recognition of her work. She passed away in 2008.
Custodial History
Materials in this fonds were created by Gisela Mendel during her time as Museum Curator, or donated by her, her family members, or other community members following her retirement.
Scope and Content
This fonds consists of materials created or collected by Gisela Mendel throughout her time in British Columbia, particularly during her tenure as the Museum's first curator (1969-1981). It is divided into three series:
Series 1: Photographs - approx. 330 photographs, negatives, and slides taken by Gisela Mendel, showing the local area, flora and fauna, Museum displays, Kitamaat Village and its residents, traditional Haisla cultural activities, etc.
Series 2: Kitimat Flora Collection - 12 boxes of pressed and dried flora from the local area, with associated information.
Series 3: Logbooks and scrapbooks - logbooks from Clague and Squirrel Mountains (1957-1969), accounts of Mendel family outings (1963-1968), scrapbook/photo album from Stikine road trip (1999), textual material and photos on regional hiking rails from binder on assembled by Gisela.
Series 4: Maps - 23 regional maps collected and annotated by Gisela.
Black ribbon with silver text rading "Canada Honours Year of the Veteran 2005. Top has gold crest with maple leaf in centre and crown on top with text Memoriam Eorum Retinebimus Legion. Bottom has image of gold maple leaf and red poppy.
Black ribbon with silver text rading "Canada Honours Year of the Veteran 2005. Top has gold crest with maple leaf in centre and crown on top with text Memoriam Eorum Retinebimus Legion. Bottom has image of gold maple leaf and red poppy.
Physical Condition
Good
Material
fabric
Width
5cm
Length
17.5cm
Accession Number
2019.62.7
Biographical Notes
Moses Williams attended the Kitamaat Village Day School, and then the Coqualeetza Residential School until the age of fifteen. Army recruiters conscripted Haisla men into the Canadian Army and Moses went in 1945. He was sent by train to the Canadian Forces' training camp at Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. He never shipped out overseas and the war ended. Moses and his wife Kay married in 1950, shortly after she arrived to teach at Kitamaat. They moved to Terrace in 1964. Moses worked as a carpenter, brick layer and fisherman. His wife Kay taught at Northwest Community College.
