Sikh heritage display moves to museum

Timmins’ Sikh community is sharing their history at the museum this month.

After spending the first week in April at Northern College, the Sikh Heritage Month display put on by the Timmins Gurdwara has moved into its new space at the Timmins Museum: NEC, where it will be housed until the end of the month.

The display features Sikh Canadian history dating back to the first Sikh people to set foot in Canada, in 1897 during Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee celebration.

That history is a part of Kanwaljit Bains’ family history and she says sharing it has been a wonderful experience.

“My great-grandfather represented the entire state of Punjab,” she said. “My blood is in Canada back in 1897.”

The display is part of the celebration of Sikh Heritage Month, which was first recognized in Ontario in 2013. It includes panels with stories from local community members, Sikh military and law enforcement history in Canada, pop culture and media depictions, and more.

The display is smaller than the version of what was housed at Northern College at the beginning of the month.

Photos and printed information cover the panels that are hanging in the program room.

The Timmins Public Library was originally going to host the display after its run at Northern College, but it’s moved to the museum due to space.

“It’s a little bit of everything about Sikhs in Canada,” said Bains. “This is just a small portion of us in Canada.”

Kaitlyn Dubeau, Timmins museum assistant curator, is happy to help spread the word and share some knowledge about the Sikh community.

“We were excited to do this, to partner with them more and more to help promote their culture in our community,” said Dubeau.

“They created all the material. It’s actually quite an extensive amount of information to really learn about Sikh heritage not just in Canada but specifically to our community as well,” she said. “It’s just a really great opportunity to learn a little bit more about it.”

She’s hopeful this will be one of many partnerships with the Timmins Gurdwara.

The display will be at the Timmins museum on Second Avenue until April 31.

Amanda Rabski-McColl, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TimminsToday.com