Leonard Humphreys was a member of the Sudan Civil Service. During Leonard Humphrey’s post as a member in Sudan Civil Service, he took photographs and drew sketches which he later compiled into scrapbooks. The Sudan Civil Service was a branch of the British Civil Service working in Egypt during the period between World War One and the 1950’s.
Lillian French, neé Lucey, worked as a nurse and teacher in various communities in British Columbia, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories from the late 1930s to the 1960s, including Port Simpson, Old Crow, YT and Fort MacPherson, NWT. She was also a member of the Anglican Church Women’s Auxiliary. During her career, she collected many examples of Native handicrafts, many of which she received as gifts from her pupils and patients.
Lilo Berliner was a librarian in the references division at the University of Victoria with an interest in First Nations art. She was also an acquaintance of Elizabeth Hill, a published author on petroglyphs found in British Columbia and the west coast of North America. Lilo Berliner travelled extensively throughout the west coast of North America, and especially Vancouver Island, visiting and photographing petroglyphs and other First Nations art. The discovery of a bowl petroglyph on Salt Spring Island prompted her to write a letter to Wilson Duff, anthropologist at the University of British Columbia, with whom she maintained a regular correspondence until his death. Shortly before her own passing, Lilo Berliner gave this correspondence to her close friend, Salt Spring Island based writer, Phyllis Webb.
Lorna R. Marsden (CM, O.Ont, OM(FGR), LLD(hons), PhD) was born in Sidney, British Columbia in 1942. Marsden received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a PhD in Sociology from Princeton University in 1972. She joined the University of Toronto in 1972 as a professor Sociology, and was later Associate Dean of the Graduate School and the Vice-Provost (Arts and Sciences), also at the University of Toronto. While at the University of Toronto, she also joined the Liberal Party of Canada and acted as national policy chair in 1975 and vice-president in 1980. She was appointed to the Canadian Senate (Toronto-Taddle Creek) by Pierre Trudeau in 1984, and continued to teach part-time until 1992 when she became the president and Vice-Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1997, she was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of York University and held the position until 2007 when she was given the title of president emerita. While President at York, Marsden founded the Culture and Communications program and led a major building campaign. Marsden has also served as director and sat on boards for voluntary associations as well as organizations like Manulife Financial, the Laidlaw Foundation, Gore Mutual, Westcoast Energy Inc., and the Institute for Work and Health. As of 2018, she is chair of the Board of Directors of the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.
Marsden attended the founding meeting of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women in 1972, and served as the President of NAC from 1975-1977. She was an active participant in the Ontario Committee on the Status of Women from 1971, the founder and director of the Child, Youth, & Family Policy Research Centre from 1987 to 1992, and a council member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Marsden has published and spoken widely on the topics women’s work and the struggle for equality in Canada, social change and policy, and university administration, including the 2018 book co-written with Beth Atchenson entitled “White Gloves Off: The Work of the Ontario Committee on the Status of Women.
Marsden is the recipient of several honours. She was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 by the Women’s Executive Network from 2003 to 2006, and received the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2003. She became a member of the Order of Canada in 2006 and the Order of Ontario in 2009, and received the Order of merit (First Class) of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2007. She has also received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, the Canada 125th Anniversary Medal, and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2017 she received the Senate Medal for Canada 150. Marsden holds honorary doctorates from the University of New Brunswick, University of Winnipeg, Queen’s University, the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the University of Victoria.
Lyle Wilson, a Haisla artist, was born in 1955 at Butedale, British Columbia. He grew up in the northern coastal communities of Kitimat and Kitimat Village. Wilson grew up watching his uncle, Sam Robinson, create carvings out of wood, and he later became a skilled carver and artist himself. In his explorations of art, Wilson brings together his fine-arts training and knowledge of Western European art history with his understanding of Haisla art and tradition and experiments with a range of media. In addition to the carvings he creates out of wood, horn and ivory, Wilson also creates metalwork, jewelry, drawings, and paintings.
Wilson attended the Emily Carr School of Art and Design and the University of British Columbia in the 1980s, where he was educated in European art traditions. At UBC Wilson was exposed to a wealth of Northwest Coast First Nations’ art. He studied artifacts, photographs of artifacts, and learned from practicing artists. He worked as a Project Consultant in the development of the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Grand Hall exhibition and was an artist-in-residence at the UBC Museum of Anthropology. Wilson has worked on commissions and exhibited his work both locally in Vancouver as well as internationally in Osaka, Japan and New York.
Lynn Hill was curator-in-residence at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia from ca. 1998-2000, and curated the exhibit “Raven’s Reprise” (January 2000-January 2001). She is a member of the Iroquois Confederacy from the Six Nations of the Grand River and was born in Hamilton, Ontario. Hill has curated various contemporary First Nations art exhibitions, including The Traveling Alter Native Medicine Show (Vancouver, 1999), LICK (Toronto, 1997), Godi’nigoha’: The Woman’s Mind (Brantford, 1997), and AlterNative: Contemporary Photo Compositions (Toronto/Ottawa, 1995-1996). She is a founding member of the artist collective LICK and of the ALA curatorial collective.
Madeline Bronsdon Rowan is a Canadian citizen, born on February 21, 1940. Her educational background includes a Bachelors degree in Anthropology and English Literature in 1963 and a Masters degree in Anthropology in 1966 from the University of British Columbia. Madeline Bronsdon Rowan was formerly in a joint position as the curator of education/public programming at the Museum of Anthropology and senior instructor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia from 1975 to 1987. Her curatorial responsibilities included establishing and supervising school programmes for students and teachers, and to train members of the Volunteer Associates to conduct these programmes. In addition, she was responsible for providing professional development workshops for teachers and students in the Faculty of Education department at the University of British Columbia, and to develop units of curriculum and "touchable" artifact kits (in co-operation with various natives groups and experts). Rowan was also the supervisor for the Native Youth Project and the Coast Salish Project, these two projects are designed to encourage First Nation's youths to conduct lectures and give tours to museum patrons on traditional and contemporary Northwest Coast Native culture. Rowan's teaching areas of specialization for the anthropology department are: Introductory Anthropology, Material Culture and Education, Netsilik Inuit Culture and Northwest Coast Indian Studies. She was also an active board member of Native Indian Youth Advisory Society from 1982 to 1987. The society, under the direction of Mrs. Brenda Taylor, sponsored the Native Youth Project. Rowan was the curator in charge of the following exhibits: Dress and Identity, a cross-cultural display on the nature of attire expressing identity and status within a community (1977); East African Medicine, an exhibit based on the artifact collection of Dr. T. Margetts that demonstrates various methods of healing (1978); and Cedar, the use of trees in the Northwest Culture, co-authored by guest curator Hilary Stewart (1984). She also designed the "Netsilik Culture" artifact and raw materials teaching kit and a supporting curriculum unit, An Introduction to Netsilik Culture: A Seasonal Station Study, in 1983. Madeline Bronsdon Rowan authored and co-authored several published and unpublished articles relating to the Native Youth Project, Netsilik culture, native education, museums in relation to anthropology, museums and the school environment, and artifacts as art. This includes her articles "Making Museums Meaningful for Blind Children", co-authored with Sally Rogow, Faculty of Education, Gazette, July 1978; Guide to the U.B.C. Museum of Anthropology co-authored with Dr. Margaret Stott; and "U.B.C. Museum of Anthropology Native Youth Project", Urban Indian Multicultural Conference. Vancouver, October 1981.
Margaret Stott served as the Curator of Ethnology and Education at the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology from 1979-1990. Stott's duties included public programs, education, and curator activities. Stott also gave teacher and museum workshops as well as teaching anthropology classes at the University of British Columbia. Margaret Stott obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia in 1966. In 1969, Stott received her Master in Anthropology at McGill University. From 1969 to 1972, she served as archivist at the National Museum of Man in Ottawa and from 1973 to 1975, she worked as the Anthropology Exhibits Coordinator for the Museum of Man. From 1979 to 1990, Stott served as the Curator of Ethnology at UBC's Museum of Anthropology. Meanwhile in 1982, Stott obtained her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of London. In 1990, Margaret Stott completed the Foundation Programme in Tourism Management at Simon Fraser University. From 1979 onwards, Stott also worked as a museum consultant. Major exhibitions curated or coordinated by Margaret Stott include: "'Ksan: Breath of Our Grandfathers", a travelling exhibition of the National Museum of Man 91972-1973); "Ontario Prehistory", a travelling exhibition of the National Museum of Man (1973); "Athapaskan Peoples: Strangers of the North", an exhibition prepared by the National Museum of Man and the Royal Scottish Museum (1973-1975); "Objects from Northwest Coast Indian Cultures", a touchable exhibit for visually handicapped at the UBC Museum of Anthropology (1979-1980); "Kwaqiutl Echo Dance Costume" for the Guaranteed Trust Company (1980); "Northwest Coast Indian Art", a display in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Vancouver International Airport (1980 onwards); "Form, Manufacture, Function, and Meaning" exhibited at MOA (1981-1982); "Art of the Northwest Coast Indians" was an exhibition for the UBC Hospital (1983); "O Canada!" at MOA (1984); "Blue Jeans" at MOA (1985); "To market, to market...the culture exchange", an exhibition about tourism and art at MOA (1989); and a Nuxalk exhibit (untitled) of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Stott also worked on a number of audio-visual productions. "MOA Presents" consists of 8 half-hour productions for cable and educational television networks in British Columbia 1980-1981. "MOA Presents Series 2", consists of 6 half-hour programs for the Knowledge Network, public programming in British Columbia 1981-1982. "A Curator's Guide to MOA", a 30-minute audio tour tape, was produced in 1983. Stott is credited with a number of published independent and collaborative articles. Some of these titles include "Guide to the UBC Museum of Anthropology", "Bella Coola Ceremony and Art". Among her published journal articles: "Economic Transition and the Family in Mykonos, Greece"; "Video Disc: Museums and the Future"; "Object, Context, and Process: Approaches to Teaching about Material Culture".
Marie-Claire Delahaye worked as a nurse in Barotseland in western Zambia from 1956 – 1960 and again from 1962 – 1965. In that time she spent one year at Mwandi, one year at Nalolo and two and a half at Senanga. Upon her return in 1962 she lived for one year at Lealui before returning to Senanga until 1965. Delahaye spoke Silozi, the language of the Lozi people, exclusively while living in Zambia. She worked in missionary hospitals and dispensaries.
Marjorie Myers Halpin was born on February 11, 1937 in Tampa, Florida. She received both her Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Anthropology from George Washington University in 1962 and 1965 respectively. Between 1963 and 1968, Halpin was employed as a docent and an instructor in anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. During this time, she was also a part-time lecturer at George Washington University. Halpin’s involvement as teacher and scholar at the University of British Columbia began in 1968 when she was hired as a sessional lecturer in the Anthropology Department. Her duties evolved to include part-time curating at the Museum of Anthropology at U.B.C. She received her Ph.D. from U.B.C. in 1973 and was hired for the position of Assistant Professor and Curator in the same year. Halpin was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor and Curator at U.B.C. in 1981 and remained in this position until the time of her death in 2000. She was also Acting Director of the Museum from 1983 to 1984.
As a professor in U.B.C.’s Anthropology Department, Halpin taught both lower and higher level anthropology courses. She also supervised the work of many Master’s and Ph.D.-level students and served as Chair and University Examiner for numerous Ph.D. students. As part of U.B.C.’s faculty, Halpin served on various committees including the Department Equity Committee, the Graduate Studies Committee and Green College’s Membership Committee. As scholar and writer, Halpin’s main interests were in Coast Tsimshian and Gitksan ethnology, museum anthropology, and the anthropology of art and ritual, which led her to produce many articles and essays on native art and culture. In addition, Halpin also gave presentations and public lectures at national and international conferences. She wrote two books, Totem Poles: An Illustrated Guide and Jack Shadbolt and the Coastal Indian Image, both of which were published as part of the Museum of Anthropology’s Museum Note Series. Halpin also edited and reviewed many publications within the anthropological field and contributed chapters to Canadian Encyclopedia, The Handbook of North American Indians and Consciousness and Inquiry, among many other publications. Her scholarly interests have also led to her involvement with electronic publications on Northwest Coast art, namely with CD-Roms and websites.
Halpin was an active member of numerous societies such as the Canadian Ethnology Society, the Canadian Museums Association and the Native Studies Art Association of Canada. She was also a member of the Tri-Council (MRC, SSHRC, NRC) Committee on Collections Documentation (2000), Chair of the Totem Pole Advisory Committee for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (1983-84) and Chair of the Committee on Museum Ethics for the Canadian Ethnology Society (1974-75). In addition to her duties as teacher, scholar and anthropologist, Halpin also took on the role of consultant for numerous private projects. Marjorie Halpin passed away in White Rock in 2000.
Martine J. Reid (née de Widerspach-Thor) was born in France. After completing her Master’s thesis on the role of salmon on the nineteenth- and twentieth-century Kwakwaka'wakw communities, she moved to British Columbia. While studying at the University of British Columbia, she started learning Kwakwala from Katherine Ferry Adams, who introduced her to the language and culture and adopted her into her family in 1978.
From 1976 to 1978 she attended several potlatches in the area of Alert Bay (BC). There, she came in contact with Kwakwakka’wakw communities, which would lead her to write and defend her doctoral dissertation about the Kwakwakka’wakw hamaca (Man-Eater) ritual in 1981.
In the 1970s, Dr. Reid received funding from the Urgent Ethnology Program of the Museum of Man in Ottawa to record languages and customs to prevent their loss. As part of this project, Dr. Reid came in contact with Agnes Alfred (or Axuw or Axuwaw) with whom she travelled to different Kwakwakka’wakw communities. As part of these visits, she met Agnes’ granddaughter, Daisy Sewid-Smith.
Between 1979 and 1980, and in 1983 and 1985 Sewid-Smith and Reid recorded and translated Agnes’ memoirs. From then until the late 1990s, they put a hold in their project for personal and work-related reasons. In the late 1990s, they resumed their work, which lead to the publication of Paddling to Where I Stand in 2004.
Between 1979 and 1983, Dr. Reid worked at the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. There, she lectured in the areas of Anthropology, Ethnography, and First Nations studies. She also participated in several art-related projects in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, while consulting projects for the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs and for the Native Investment Trade Association.
From 2008 to 2012, Dr. Reid was the Director of Content and Research, and Curator at the Bill Reid Gallery. Then, she became the Honorary Chair of the Bill Reid Foundation.