Yellowknife Historical Museum Officially Opens

The Yellowknife Historical Society has just held the Grand Opening of the new Yellowknife Historical Museum.

On the bright, sunny morning of Tuesday, March 26, a handful of city residents gathered at the former Giant Mine Recreation Hall along Highway 4. The opening ceremony consisted of a quick performance by the Yellowknives Dene Drummers, a Feeding the Fire blessing from an Indigenous leader, and a simple ribbon cutting to officially launch the museum.

Grace Guy, the Manage of the Museum, was quite happy with the turnout they received, and is looking forward to the possibilities of the future.

“We’re kind of differentiating ourselves from the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in the sense that we’re really focussing on Yellowknife’s history. So, the cultural history, indigenous history, geological history, and this was all born by a group that was interested in the mining history. They were going into the mines and collecting all of the things that were left over, and that collection became formalized and we started expanding once some geologists joined the board into geology and the history and culture of Yellowknife.”

Guy added that there are plans to use the museum for certain events in the future, as the former recreation hall used to do as well.

“We used to have a dance hall, a theatre, a great restaurant, so we’re kind of hoping to bring those things back and make it a very social space. We’ve already had some weddings and some annual general meetings booked, so it’s just a very fantastic place to have the community gather.”

Many local organizations and individuals came together to help fund the creation of the museum, so as Grace said herself, it is a spot that is “by and for Yellowknifers.”