The Campbell River Arts Council, the Haig-Brown Institute, the Museum at Campbell River and School District 72 are partnering this year to present the 2015 Haig-Brown Memorial Lecture.
The lecture will take place next Saturday, Sept. 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Museum at Campbell River.
This year’s lecture, entitled “Aboriginals, Conservation, Fish and our Common Survival,” will be delivered by noted Canadian author Bev Sellars.
The lecture will address issues of the residential school system, environmental stewardship and cultural perspectives on the economy.
Bev Sellars stepped down in March from her position as chief of the Xat’sull (Soda Creek) First Nation in Williams Lake, B.C.
She returned to the First Nations community of Soda Creek after an extended period of, “visiting other territories.”
While she was away, she earned a degree in history from the University of Victoria and a law degree from the University of British Columbia, and she served as adviser for the B.C. Treaty Commission.
She was first elected chief in 1987 and has spoken out on behalf of her community on racism and residential schools and on the environmental and social threats of mineral resource exploitation in her region.
Her book, They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School received national attention and was the winner of the 2014 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature.
The Haig-Brown Memorial Lecture Series was created by the Campbell River Arts Council in 2009, with the intention of honouring the legacy of both Roderick Haig-Brown and Ann Haig-Brown (nee Elmore).
Roderick Haig-Brown (1908-1976) applied his passion equally to fishing, writing, conservation, and public service and left behind a strong legacy of literary excellence, centred on the rivers of B.C.
His work represented an early voice in environmentalism and conservation.
Ann Elmore was a major force for social justice issues in Campbell River, notably around the challenges facing women.
The Ann Elmore Transition House is named in her honour.
The Haig-Brown Memorial Lectures provide an annual forum for writers to inspire a new generation with their vision for the environment, social issues and literary excellence.
A signed and numbered collectable chapbook of the 2015 Lecture has been produced and will be available at the Museum at Campbell River.
Call the Museum at 287-3103 to reserve a seat for this historic event.
The cost for the lecture is $10.