Northern Heritage

This is a newsletter for people living in the North, specifically in Prince George and Northern British Columbia, but it will have meaning for anyone living in, intrigued with or in love with “the north” anywhere …. places that are on the frontier, part of nature, peopled by indigenous owners and immigrant new-comers, built quickly and roughly for people who moved on and slowly transitioning for people who stay to make a new life. This newsletter delves into the culture and heritage of the North; not just what remains and what is at risk but also the new culture we are making every day.

Heritage is much more than old buildings, it is how we all feel about a place, what we do in it, how we value, hold on to and mourn the loss of bits of the past and long to pass Northern places and ideas on to our children.

I am a Canadian who recently returned after 50 years abroad and settled in Prince George, my first experience of the North of BC. In those decades I became an archaeologist, heritage consultant and university professor living and working in Greece, Turkey, China, most of Southeast Asia and Pakistan. I will inevitably view Northern Heritage through the eyes of a professional, Canadian, “immigrant” grandmother….

The Northern Heritage newsletter hopes to build a community to discuss heritage in the North and to generate and inspire action, from documenting bits of the past, to advocating for old buildings, archaeological sites and enlivening shared spaces and activities. Putting heritage at the centre, where it belongs!

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