October 1, 2004 for immediate release


The Hamber Foundation is supporting a Thursday afternoon series ofpublic lectures at the University of Northern British Columbia inOctober to mark Women's History Month.

Sylvia Van Kirk, Professor Emerita, University of Toronto
"A Tale of Two Wives: The Nisga'a and Haida Connections to the W.H. McNeill Family"
Thursday, October 7, 4pm, 7-152
Dr Kirk taught at the University of Toronto for almost 30 years andpioneered courses in Canadian Women's History andAboriginal/non-Aboriginal Relations. She has written numerous articleson the role of women in early Western Canada. The presentation onOctober 7th grows out of her recent research on the experience ofHBC/native families in colonial Victoria in the mid-19th century.

Mary-Ellen Kelm, History program, UNBC
"Cross Dressing, Dressing Up, Speaking Out: Women Ride the Williams Lake Stampede"
Thursday, October 14, 4pm, 7-152
Dr Kelm's 1998 book, Colonizing Bodies, won the Sir. John A. MacdonaldPrize and the Clio award for the best book in Canadian and BritishColumbia history (respectively). Mary-Ellen has been at UNBC for tenyears and has taught courses in methodology, history of medicine,women's history, and cultural history.

Christine Welsh, documentary filmmaker
"My Conversations with Canada: A Métis Filmmaker's Reflections"
Thursday, October 21, 4pm, 7-152
Christine is a Métis woman, originally from Saskatchewan. She is adocumentary filmmaker and over the past 15 years she has made a numberof films on Native women's issues including "Women in the Shadows","Keepers of the Fire", "Kuper Island: Return to the Healing Circle" and"The Story of the Coast Salish Knitters".

Theresa Healy, Environmental Planning instructor, UNBC
"Piecing Together the Past: Stories, Wisdom and Lessons in Women's History"
Thursday, October 28, 4pm, 7-152
Theresa Healy is an ardent historian and is a founding member of thePrince George Oral History Group. She was part of the court challengefor same sex rights to marriage and was winner of the Woman of the Yearand Professional Woman of Distinction in 2003.

The Hamber Foundation was established in 1964 in memory ofLieutenant-Governor Eric Werge Hamber. The foundation has supported anumber of initiatives around the province, including a library atChildren's Hospital and a Chair in Medicine at the University ofBritish Columbia. In addition to supporting the women's history lectureseries, the Hamber Foundation also supports fellowships forundergraduate and graduate students at UNBC.