Fate of legislature murals in hands of advisory panel

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The question of what to do with the four murals hanging in the rotunda of the provincial legislature building is now in the hands of a newly formed Speaker's advisory panel.

Creation of the panel was announced by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Bill Hartley, on Nov. 30, in response to a complaint from the First Nations Summit earlier this year that the murals are offensive.

The murals, which have been hanging in the legislature since 1932, have been criticized for portraying Aboriginal people in a demeaning way, featuring topless Aboriginal women and Aboriginal men in subservient positions to the European colonists depicted.

Members of the advisory panel are Jo-Ann Archibald, professor of Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and director of the First Nations House of Learning; Dr. Jean Barman, professor of Educational Studies at UBC and past director of the BC Heritage Trust; Dr. Martha Black, curator of Ethnology at the Royal British Columbia Museum; Dr. John Lutz, professor of History at the University of Victoria, and Aboriginal artist and lecturer on Northwest Coast art and culture, Art Thompson.

Luba Lisun of the Speaker's office is working to co-ordinate the advisory panel.

The Speaker has spent the last month or so trying to achieve the right balance on the panel, Lisun said, ensuring the general community interest is represented, and that the needed expertise in the areas of history, art history, Aboriginal culture and art are all brought to the table.

Lisun said the panel would be holding its first meeting within the next few weeks, and she expected the issue should be resolved in short order.

"They bring to the table a certain amount of expertise. There will be information available, ready for them. And so the expectation is this isn't going to be a long process, and I think the members feel that themselves, although I don't want to speak on their behalf," Lisun said.

Anyone wanting to submit a written brief to the panel on the mural issue can do so by mail, fax, or e-mail. Mail your submission to the Speaker's Advisory Panel, Clerk of Committees, Room 224, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4, fax them to 250-356-8172, or e-mail them to ClerkComm@leg.bc.ca.