Indigenous History Month Events & Exhibits

We’ve gathered a list of Indigenous events, exhibits, and activities happening during National Indigenous History Month in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission.

If there is an error, or missing events, please email comms@archway.ca. 

National Indigenous Peoples Day & Indigenous History Month Events

National Indigenous People’s Day Celebration

• Date: Saturday, June 17th – 11:00am – 3:00pm
• Location: Kariton Art Gallery, 2387 Ware Street, Abbotsford
• Hosts: Abbotsford Arts Council & City of Abbotsford
• About: Live music, drum making workshop, vendors market, interactive mural wall and art giveaway.
• Facebook Event

Indigenous Day 

• Date: Wednesday, June 21st – 10:00am – 3:00pm
• Location: Fraser River Heritage Park, Mission
• Hosts: Mission Friendship Centre Society
• About: This year’s theme is healing through mind, body and Spirit! A celebration of Indigenous history through storytelling, traditions and culture.
• More Details

Indigenous Peoples Day Community Event

• Date: Wednesday, June 21st – 12:00pm – 4:00pm
• Location: Vedder Park, Petawawa Rd, Chilliwack
• Host: Wilma’s Transition Society
• About: Knowledge sharing, fun activities and food in celebration of the beautiful heritage of Indigenous peoples.
• Facebook Event

Luminous Waters Puppet Performance

• Date: Monday, June 19th – 10:00am & 11:30 for School Groups, 7:00pm for the general public
• Location: Abbotsford Arts Centre, 2329 Crescent Way, Abbotsford
• Hosts: The Reach Gallery Museum, Indigenous Education, and Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts (ASIA) – Sumas Mountain.
• About: This family-friendly performance is inspired by the award-winning children’s book Semá:th X̱ó:tsa: Sts’ólemeqwelh Sx̱ó:tsa / Great-Gramma’s Lake. A Professional puppeteer and ASIA students bring to life three larger-than-life illuminated puppets based on more-than-human beings that would have once lived in and around the lake. (registration required)
• More Details

Beading Workshop

• Date: Saturday, June 17th – 10:00am – 12:00pm
• Location: Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve
• Host: Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve
• About: Create a stelmexw (medicine bag) with Gracie Kelly and expert beading teacher Darlene Harris! Learn traditional medicine teachings including sage, sweetgrass, tobacco & cedar as well as some beading teachings. (registration required)
• More Details

Indigenous Art Discussion

• Date: Monday, June 20th – 11:00am – 2:00pm
• Location: Abbotsford WorkBC, #103 33255 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford
• Host: Abbotsford WorkBC
• About: Indigenous artist Richard “Rikter” Pop will share his work and there will be a discussion about the powerful impact Indigenous art has on our community and culture.
• More Details

Aboriginal Arts and Culture Day

• Date: Sunday, June 11th – 10:00am – 4:00pm
• Location: Trethewey House, 2313 Ware Street, Abbotsford
• Host: Aboriginal Arts and Culture Events
• About: Artisans, storytellers, a drum-making workshop, bannock, kids’ activities and more.
• More Details

Indigenous Exhibits & Tours

If exhibits are temporary, the end date is noted in each listing.

Trethewey House Heritage Site

• Permanent Exhibit on “The River People and the Land: Living within S’ólh Téméxw”

The Reach Gallery Museum

• The Reach Gallery Museum contains local history exhibits and often features Indigenous artists
• Students in the Senior Art Activism Class collaborated with UBC and Corrections Canada to finish paintings that Indigenous incarcerated citizens began in healing lodges as an act of healing, learning, and reconciliation. (ends June 24th)

Kariton Art Gallery

• Solitude is an exhibit by Adele Fussi, a local Cree artist who took up painting in her 60s and has been awarded an Emerging Artist Arty Award. Her paintings of majestic Coastal and Rocky Mountains can be viewed in person or online.  (Ends June 30th)

Mission Museum

• Learn about Stó:lō history at the Mission Museum

Stó:lō Tourism Tours

• Book a tour through Stó:lō Tourism
• Guided Grounds Tours: Coqualeetza (Chilliwack), St Mary’s Residential School (Mission) and X̲áːytem Interpretive Centre
• Guided Bus Tours: Bad Rock (Chilliwack/Yale/Hope), Chilliwack Lake, Sumas Region
• Guided Water Tours: Harrison Lake, Harrison River, Fraser River

Fraser River Discovery Centre

• Visitors to the Discovery Centre will learn about the river’s contribution to the life, history, and future of British Columbia and its people through rotating exhibits and hands-on programs