From now until October, Heritage BC is accepting nominations for the 2027 Heritage BC Awards, recognizing those who contribute to the conservation of B.C.’s heritage. As nominations get underway, The Source caught up with the Amelia Douglas Institute, a recipient of this year’s Indigenous and Diverse Cultures Award, to learn more about its work and values.

Preserving Métis Culture and Connection

“Preserving Métis culture for us all is about creating opportunities for Métis people to feel connected with each other, with their culture and with their grandmothers and ancestors,” says Tom Long, manager of the Amelia Douglas Institute for Métis Culture and Learning in Surrey.

On May 5, the charitable institute named after Amelia Douglas, a Métis woman, received a Heritage BC Award. Now in its 45th year, Heritage BC, a non-profit organization, continues to recognize accomplishments toward heritage conservation. It administers the $14 million Heritage Legacy Fund held by the Vancouver Foundation.

Amelia was born in Manitoba in 1812. She grew up in the colonial era of fur trading and the Hudson’s Bay Company. Her husband, Sir James Douglas, the governor of Vancouver Island and British Columbia at the time, was born in British Guyana to a Scottish father and a Creole woman from Barbados. Amelia raised their six out of 13 children who survived into adulthood in the Métis culture and language.

The Amelia Douglas Institute opened in 2024. Receiving a Heritage BC Award this early helps raise the institute’s profile for future funding. Programming is made possible by grants, donations and sponsors. This year, the institute shares the BC Heritage Award alongside other Indigenous heritage recipients.

“It’s such an honour to be recognized among these other First Nations and other Indigenous groups,” says Long.

Other winners include a permanent exhibit on the Witsuwit’en people in Smithers at the Bulkley Valley Museum, the Feed the People workshop at the Galiano Conservancy Association, and the Totest Aleng: Indigenous Learning Centre in Surrey.

Where past and present meet

The Amelia Douglas Institute’s current exhibit is The Gifts We Carry. Twelve Métis beaded clasp purses showcase the Métis heritage art form. The works of modern artists are displayed beside grandmother pieces to show how the present converses with the past.

“People can be very comfortable knowing they are hearing Métis stories from Métis people, developed communally with the Métis nation and our staff,” Long says.

The institute continues to be a gathering space to celebrate Métis art and culture.

“Because of the diaspora and because we are such a mobile people, we’ve spread out over Western Canada,” Long says.

The institute’s website features various Métis art from across museums in Canada and the rest of the world. Presentations are available and can be booked for in person or online sessions. The Discover Our Stories series explores the Métis identity in B.C. through art and clothing. Additional programs include Amelia Douglas and Her Life and Louis Riel: Reflections of a Métis Hero. The institute also manages the Métis in BC Artist Collective. With 54 members and growing, the collective works to connect Métis artists with callouts, teachers and mentors.

“We are preserving our culture. There are over 100,000 Métis in B.C. who get to go to a website, book a program, come to a gallery and see a place where their culture and their art are preserved and celebrated,” says Long.

This fall the institute will hold the world’s first Michif language exhibition.

For more information on the 2027 Heritage Awards, please visit:  www.heritagebc.ca/events-activities/awards