The Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia (CCHSBC)

The Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia was created in 2004 after many years of planning by Ed Wickberg, professor emeritus of history at UBC. Its vision? As a non-profit, participatory provincial organization dedicated to broadening our shared understanding of history of the Chinese in British Columbia through research, documentation, preservation and education, the CCHS aspires to:

1. To provide resources and support to members in their research in family, business and community histories of the Chinese in British Columbia.
2. To encourage participation from all British Columbians and Canadians in documentation, preservation, research and public education on Chinese Canadian history in British Columbia.
3. To be acknowledged and respected as a resource centre on the history of the Chinese in British Columbia.
4. To collaborate with institutions and organizations to promote and share the history of the Chinese in British Columbia

One of the many projects that the CCHS has conducted is: Chinese Canadians and First Nations: 150 Years of Shared Experiences focuses on an important and unrecognized component of BC’s history: the relationships between Chinese Canadians and First Nations people of the province. Most projects looking at the Chinese in early British Columbia have focussed on our history in relationship to the gold rush, the building of the railroad, in the fishing and agricultural industries and the development of Chinatowns in Victoria and Vancouver; however the Chinese community was also in contact with First Nations peoples, sharing experiences of exclusion, racism, perseverance and love. Chinese and the First Nations people have in fact had an interesting and complex history together in British Columbia, however, this history has gone largely unknown and unrecorded.