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Acknowledgments
The ADI would like to acknowledge and extend a heartfelt thank you to the many Métis artists, knowledge carriers, Michif speakers and Elders that have generously shared their knowledge, skills and teachings with us. We thank our ancestors for their strength, wisdom and resilience so that we can know and share our beautiful Métis culture and languages.
We send our gratitude to the numerous museums and institutions across Canada that have contributed images of Métis material arts and cultural items featured within the website, including: McCord Stewart Museum, Waddington's Auctioneers and Appraisers, the Canadian Museum of History and the Sam Waller Museum.
We also thank the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Government of British Columbia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport/BC Arts Council for their financial contributions.
Vision, Mission, and Mandate
Vision
The Amelia Douglas Institute is the centre of Métis culture and language resources and programming in British Columbia. The Institute’s province-wide network is dedicated to educating Métis people and the public about Métis culture and way of life.
Mission Statement
The Amelia Douglas Institute celebrates and uplifts Métis culture in British Columbia through educational and interactive exhibitions, programs, and research. The Institute connects Métis people throughout the province with their culture, heritage, and languages through virtual and in-person resources and initiatives and educates the public about the contributions of Métis people and Métis culture.
Mandate
The Amelia Douglas Institute explores all aspects of Métis culture, heritage, and language since the Métis Nation’s origins in the Red River region to the present day in British Columbia.
About Amelia Douglas
Amelia Douglas (née. Connolly) was a Métis woman born in 1812 in Fort Churchill, Manitoba to an Irish French-Canadian father and a Cree mother. Despite marrying James Douglas, the future governor of BC, Amelia maintained her ties to the culture throughout her life.
Amelia Douglas was noted to have worn moccasins and clothing decorated with quillwork, beadwork, and embroidery, eat traditional foods, and tell her children Métis stories. Like many Métis families at the time, Amelia and James Douglas’ family was multilingual and spoke French, English, Cree, Chinook Jargon, and Michif. As a Métis woman, she challenged the status quo of the BC colonial elite by proudly maintaining her Métis culture and values.
In naming the Institute after Amelia Douglas, we aim to honour Amelia and the many Métis matriarchs who have shaped the Métis Nation, and whose stories have been underrepresented in contemporary retellings of Métis histories.
