Don’t forget to take the time to visit the village display behind the museum. There is so much to see here give yourself lots of time.
I took the city bus to campus and enjoyed the variety of items on display and the hour long, free tour.
I very well put together museum that focusses on the culture of the regions First Nations people. The museum also showcases many other cultures to a lesser degree. The extent of their artefacts is not immediately evident until you start to navigate the labyrinth of display cases. There are so beautiful large pieces of commissioned art and historic relic including house poles, canoes & ritual masks. I would recommend 2 hours to 3 hours to see everything the museum has to offer.
This is quite a collection. The totems are mostly from the 19th century as are most of the artifacts. There are some spectacular modern pieces that document the continuation of the extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry. It’s well worth a 20 minute taxi ride from Coal Harbour.
A superb collection of Northwest artifacts, especially large items such as totem, house and grave poles/crests, huge potlach masks, baskets etc that provide insight into the highly hierarchical social-spiritual organization of local tribes (Kwakiutl, Tlingit, Haida etc). Not enough space, so many items hidden in pull-out drawers and stuffed into overcrowded vitrines. I'd wish the devoted more space to Oceanic items (especially Papuan, Kiribati etc) some of which were spectacular.
The Museum clearly expands a huge amount of effort to assuage the sensitivities and sensibilities of local tribes, which includes the removal and return of significant objects. This seems to be handled well, and in a way that respects the natives without resorting to multiculturalist mumbo jumbo. I would have liked to see more videos of native ceremonies and performances (especially the winter ceremonies).
