Culture Days: Fall Speaker Series - Power Relationship in the Okanagan

Join the Westbank Museum for their Fall Speaker Series.

This week’s speaker is Professor Duane Thomson, Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan.

During this session, Professor Thomson will be leading an interactive primary document study exploring a critical moment in Okanagan history. Set in 1867, shortly after the establishment of colonial and Catholic jurisdictions in the region, this study will be centered on a series of historical letters detailing a high-stakes personal and legal conflict involving local civil figures, Catholic clergy, and Indigenous leadership.

Rather than presenting a passive lecture, this event invites audience members to analyze primary documents directly. Participants will explore questions surrounding customary marriage practices, competing church and civil authorities, and the role of newly formed village councils.

Discover how historians construct narratives from raw archival evidence, and form your own inferences about this period of rapid societal transition.

Spaces are limited. RSVP by calling 250-768-0110 or emailing info@westbankmuseum.com.