Folder containing Future Archaeology Proposals. Archaeology Project 1985, Excavation and survey within Haisla Traditional territory. Kitamaat Village Archaeological Research Project 1985. Includes various documents relating to this project.
Folder containing Future Archaeology Proposals. Archaeology Project 1985, Excavation and survey within Haisla Traditional territory. Kitamaat Village Archaeological Research Project 1985. Includes various documents relating to this project.
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.
Booklets relating to Kitlope and rainforest development resources and information. Also includes photocopy articles and other information photocopies about the Kiwanis opening.
Booklet - New Bearings. Conservation-based Development in the Rain Forests of Home. The Strategic Vision of Ecotrust
Booklet - A Cultural and Scientific Reconnaissance of the Greater Kitlope Ecosystem. An Executive Summary by Alex Rose. September, 1991. Published by Ecotrust and Conservation International-Canada
Booklet/Report - Following The Bubbles a report on the second Kitlope workshop held April 28-9, 1993. Sponsored by: The Haisla Nation, The Government of British Columbia, Ecotrust. District of Kitimat Received Jun 23 1993.
Booklet/Report - The Greater Kitlope Ecosystem: A Wilderness Planning Framework. A report by Grant Copeland, Wayne McCrory and Ray Travers for The Haisla Nation and Ecotrust. July, 1992.
Articles/Photocopies - Kiwanis opens first housing for seniors. Ingot Volume 28, No. 21. October 2, 1981 - Letter from sponsered youth in Ughanda - Kiwanis opens seniors' Village - Local dream comes true. Ingot October 2, 1961 - Kiwanis club congratulated for vision, drive. Northern Sentinel Volume XXVIII No. 83. Friday, October 2, 1981 - Program for Kitimat Kiwanis Senior Citizens Housing Society Official Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. October 1, 1981 1:30pm.
Booklets relating to Kitlope and rainforest development resources and information. Also includes photocopy articles and other information photocopies about the Kiwanis opening.
Booklet - New Bearings. Conservation-based Development in the Rain Forests of Home. The Strategic Vision of Ecotrust
Booklet - A Cultural and Scientific Reconnaissance of the Greater Kitlope Ecosystem. An Executive Summary by Alex Rose. September, 1991. Published by Ecotrust and Conservation International-Canada
Booklet/Report - Following The Bubbles a report on the second Kitlope workshop held April 28-9, 1993. Sponsored by: The Haisla Nation, The Government of British Columbia, Ecotrust. District of Kitimat Received Jun 23 1993.
Booklet/Report - The Greater Kitlope Ecosystem: A Wilderness Planning Framework. A report by Grant Copeland, Wayne McCrory and Ray Travers for The Haisla Nation and Ecotrust. July, 1992.
Articles/Photocopies - Kiwanis opens first housing for seniors. Ingot Volume 28, No. 21. October 2, 1981 - Letter from sponsered youth in Ughanda - Kiwanis opens seniors' Village - Local dream comes true. Ingot October 2, 1961 - Kiwanis club congratulated for vision, drive. Northern Sentinel Volume XXVIII No. 83. Friday, October 2, 1981 - Program for Kitimat Kiwanis Senior Citizens Housing Society Official Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. October 1, 1981 1:30pm.
Fonds consists of two files of materials collected and produced by the Kitimat Valley Naturalists:
F1) Contents of the secretary-treasurer's duotang, 1996-1998. Includes meeting minutes, correspondence, receipts, financial documents, mailing lists, 1997 annual report, photocopied map, events schedule, Federation of BC Naturalists membership info, sign-up sheet for Douglas Channel boat trip, correspondence from Creston Valley Wildlife Area, materials re: Gisela Mendel Native Plant Garden, draft write-up for Iron Oxbow Wildlife Viewing Area along the Kitimat River, and ephemera from the inside front cover of the duotang (receipt from Fed. of BC Naturalists, business cards for Aurora Charters and Reid Crowther Consulting Engineers).
F2) Materials related to Pine Creek Protective Covenant, 2003-2014. This covenant was established by Rio Tinto Alcan, the Haisla Nation, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to protect the Pine Creek hiking trail and its watercourse near Minette Bay. Folder includes correspondence, signage text, Land Title Act forms, maps, and a Master Watercourse Crossing List from Coastal GasLink.
The Kitimat Valley Naturalists are a non-profit organization with the goal of learning about and enjoying the natural history of the Kitimat Valley. They were founded in 1996 and are still active as of 2023. Their projects include an annual Christmas bird count, construction of bat condos, monitoring amphibian numbers, and mapping eelgrass beds in the Douglas Channel.
Custodial History
Items were donated by Susan and Walter Thorne, longtime members of the Kitimat Valley Naturalists, on February 16th 2023. The fonds was arranged and described by Museum staff in April 2023.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of two files of materials collected and produced by the Kitimat Valley Naturalists:
F1) Contents of the secretary-treasurer's duotang, 1996-1998. Includes meeting minutes, correspondence, receipts, financial documents, mailing lists, 1997 annual report, photocopied map, events schedule, Federation of BC Naturalists membership info, sign-up sheet for Douglas Channel boat trip, correspondence from Creston Valley Wildlife Area, materials re: Gisela Mendel Native Plant Garden, draft write-up for Iron Oxbow Wildlife Viewing Area along the Kitimat River, and ephemera from the inside front cover of the duotang (receipt from Fed. of BC Naturalists, business cards for Aurora Charters and Reid Crowther Consulting Engineers).
F2) Materials related to Pine Creek Protective Covenant, 2003-2014. This covenant was established by Rio Tinto Alcan, the Haisla Nation, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to protect the Pine Creek hiking trail and its watercourse near Minette Bay. Folder includes correspondence, signage text, Land Title Act forms, maps, and a Master Watercourse Crossing List from Coastal GasLink.
Notes
Three reports collected by the KVN - "An Assessment of the Kitimat Iron Oxbow Proposed Wildlife Viewing Area," "Blue Carbon - The Case for the Conservation and Enhancement of Estuarine Processes and Sediments in BC," and "Coastal Wetlands Habitat Assessment and Classification for Northwestern British Columbia" - have been added to the Museum's Reference Library.
Conservation
Removed from original duotang/folders. Staples removed.
Storage Location
Box 29
Arrangement
F1) has been left in original order, apart from ephemera which was removed from the inside cover of the duotang.
F2) has been arranged in roughly chronological order.
