The NWT Archives has acquired a collection of more than 130 rare photos – mostly from the 1930s to the 1950s – showing people, places and transportation across the North.
The collection, shot by Bishop Arthur Henry Sovereign, includes photos from the NWT, Yukon and northern Alberta.
The territorial archive, based in Yellowknife, received the bishop’s photos from the Museum and Archives of Vernon in British Columbia. The bishop retired to Vernon in the 1950s after his term as the Bishop of Athabasca.
Sovereign, from Ontario, moved to Peace River, Alberta in 1932 after being appointed the Anglican bishop of the region. He served an area that spanned more than 1.5 million square kilometres and included the NWT.
Over the years, he travelled through the region “supervising and developing churches, parish halls and mission cottages,” the NWT Archives explained in a news release.
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The territory’s archivists said bringing the northern material back to the territory was part of a broader approach designed to ensure collections are housed in their “best fit” – in other words, the most appropriate archive for the job.
The photos, now digitized and described, are available on the NWT Archives website.
Archivists plan to share more of the images via the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and NWT Archives Facebook page over the next two months.
