Discovering the Kootenays -
A Heritage Gallery of Art & Design

An Artist's Journey through the history books of Exploration and Settlement in The Columbia River Basin, and the Western Plains of Canada and the United States, from the arrival of the fur-traders to the Colonization of the West.

In the Kootenays/Kootenais the introduction of the horse, the gun, liquor, the quest for furs, David Thompson's and Lewis and Clark's explorations all paved the way to discovering the resources of The Columbia River Basin, and the subsequent influx of opportunists, exploiters, capitalists, saints and sinners, subjects of so many dedicated historians and writers that have inspired this project.

The thumbnail images are links to larger images, important dates, historical backgrounds, names, facts, places of interest, inspirational books, websites, local gems and off-the-beaten-track connections and musings.

Viewable links have a blue border - completed links include text, the rest are works in progress.

Part 1. Discovering the Kootenays.

The Aboriginals and strangers in their lands.

Part 3. Corporate Confluence.

Part 3 is inspired by The Columbia Basin River system that gave birth to the Corporate Confluence of Cominco, CPR and West Kootenay Power which has given the area the longevity of industry and employment for over 100 years.

Part 4. Immigration and Settlement in the Kootenays.

The discovery of ores and interconnected industries throughout the Kootenays and the subsequent mushrooming of communities spurred a large influx of people from all over the globe to seek their fortunes and secure better futures for themselves and their families.

Italian Emigration to Canada and USA.

The patterns of Italian emigration to Canada and USA have been formed along the lines of historic European events that affected the Italian homelands and North American requirements for labour to develop the resources of nationalistic endeavours. Most of the patterns of mass emigration involved both these factors coinciding at different intervals in time, leading to them being described as 'waves'.

The history of the ancient peoples of Italy, origins of the Flags, the formation of the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States, the modern Republic of Italy and the background leading to the modern waves of emigration are explored in this next series of webpages.

Introduction. Goals and Focus of the project, Acknowledgements.

Research material. Where appropriate, references are included on each webpage, otherwise Books, articles, websites, organizations, archives and museums used in the project are listed here.

Maureen and Michael Travers - Art and Life. Artists' statements and background; including Maureen's drawings of modern characters of the Kootenays, a link to Michael's wabi-sabi webpage, and 'About the artists', a more detailed chronological list of their qualifications, awards and achievements.

Our Heritage Gallery of Stained Glass. Discovering the Kootenays Series. --- Bob Blair's Heritage Window.

The views, opinions, contents, design and artworks are the copyright and intellectual property of Maureen A. Travers and Michael J. Travers, any requests for reproduction are to be made directly to the artists.

This is an ongoing webpage. It is updated, revised and added to on a regular basis. If there are any errors or omissions we apologise and appreciate any comments, suggestions or requests by E-mailing: maureen@discoveringthekootenays.ca.

Thank you for visiting this webpage.