The Shakti exhibit, produced in 2009, captures the historical stories of one of this Provinces largest minority group: Indo-Canadians.
The Indo-Canadian community has had a long history in this province. The first pioneers came to BC at the beginning of the 20th century. These pioneers played a major role in building this province, with the Indo-Canadian community being the third largest ethnic group in BC.
Created by Sonia Manak and Harpal Manhas, this (6-panel) exhibit was done in partnership with the BC Forest Discovery Center and the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal, and Women’s Services with funding provided by the Community Grants Initiative.
The exhibit follows the journey of immigrants to Canada from India. By the middle of the 19th century, almost all of India had come under the political and economic control of Britain. This brought about many changes to traditional Indian way of life. Poverty and rising land values were some of the consequences of British rule.
Most of the early migrants were Sikh. They were attracted to the potential they saw in BC, which (at the time) was seen as being undeveloped agriculturally and industrially. News of this new land and the potential for work spread by word of mouth and by CPR advertisements.
The Shakti exhibit will be on display in the 2023 season, as part of our Multicultural Exhibit.
If you’ve any archival material or photographs to support the exhibit – we would love to hear from you.
Neil Malbon
BC Forest Discovery Centre
The BC Forest Discovery Centre is located on the traditional territory of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) First Nations.
We are grateful for the opportunity to live and learn on these lands.
