Welcome to the digital collections at the Bill Reid Centre for Northwest Coast Studies (BRC). This is an educational and community-focused resource that we see as a living entity. It will continue to grow and change over time as we listen, learn, and work collaboratively with the peoples whose communities and ancestors are represented here.

At the core of this collection, you will find nearly 6,000 historical photographs taken primarily between 1860 and 1949. The majority of these images can be found in museums and archives throughout Europe and Turtle Island (North America). However, the BRC’s commitment to accessibility, the high resolution of many of these images, and our openness to collaborate with the communities represented position this collection as unique.

Users of this site will likely notice incomplete descriptive data associated with the images. This is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to prioritize access to these images and to generate metadata that describes digital objects and their referents in a way that reflects the needs, interests, and contexts of the communities they are by, for, and about. 

For more on our approach to Indigenous visual heritage, please visit our About page.