Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

Arts

First Nations people in button blankets at Quatsino Sound
First Nations people in button blankets at Quatsino Sound, 19-- Photo Credit: Ben W. Leeson (VPL #14079)

This page lists selected sources of information on British Columbia Indigenous artists and their creative works.

Building Effective Catalogue Searches

By subject heading - region - subdivision:

By group:

Useful subdivisions include:

  • Social Life and Customs
  • Folklore
  • Food
  • History
  • Rites and Ceremonies
  • Religion
  • Legends

Note: Be aware that terms or forms of names used in cataloguing or in titles of books may be different from those currently in use. For best results, you may need to use a variety of keyword search terms or forms of names.

Examples:

  • "Bella Bella" or "Heiltsuk"
  • "Nootka" or "Nuchalnuth"
  • "Indians" or "First Nations"

BC Artists Files

Documentation files on BC visual artists are located in Special Collections, on Level 7.

These files include:

  • magazine and newspaper clippings
  • gallery mailings
  • miscellaneous pamphlet material

The collection includes First Nation artists.

Useful Websites

A collection of images, hosted by Simon Fraser University, that records the arts and architecture of the various First Nations of the Pacific Northwest, focusing on their many and varied artistic and material expressions.

Website of the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art.

Virtual exhibits from the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.

First Nations-run Crown Corporation with a mandate to support the revitalization of Indigenous language, arts, and culture in British Columbia.

Features online exhibits of B.C. Artists, images from the collections, and online sourcebooks.

Digital Library Resources
Culture and History Subject Icon

Finding tool for historical information about BC in books, magazines and newspapers in the Vancouver Public Library collection.

Access:
Everywhere for everyone
General Reference Subject Icon

CBCA is a Canadian-focused database that offers access to newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals and reference sources. *Also suitable for research at the elementary, high school and undergraduate levels.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents
Newspapers and Magazines Subject Icon

Full-text access to over 500 BC and major Canadian daily newspapers. Some titles go back as far as the 1970s.

Access:
Everywhere for Vancouver residents

Contact Us

Northwest History Index

This card index in Special Collection provides access to the Northwest History Collection, a heritage collection covering the early history and exploration of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

The collection includes:

  • magazine and newspaper articles
  • pamphlets
  • books
  • chapters in books
  • many other resources

As of August 1998, no new material has been added to the Northwest History Index. It is continued by the British Columbia Index.