The legacy of Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey lives on at the school named for her in Mill Bay.
Frances Kelsey Secondary students have been working alongside Malahat Elders, chief, and council, Kelsey’s family, community members, as well as both local and international Indigenous artists, the FKSS Parent Advisory Council, and local businesses to bring to life: Photographic Journeys. It consists of 24 permanent large-scale artistic installation panels honouring the namesake of the school and pharmacology pioneer Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, as well as the Malahat Peoples, and waters, and lands of the place where the school is located.
Large vignettes paying tribute to the culture and ways of the Malahat Nation line the right side of the school's front stairwell, while the life and legacy of Dr. Frances Kelsey line the left. This project has been five years in the making and was motivated by the school's desire to create a both strong sense of place and belonging.
"This means quite a bit for our school," said principal Kevin van der Linden. "I believe the photos help define our identity both with the life story of our namesake and with our partnership with the Malahat Nation."
According to van der Linden, it was former principal Jeff Rowan who first initiated the project with much of the heavy lifting done by former principal Nicole Boucher in partnership with two members of the parent community, Erin Egeland and Jennifer Thom, who helped facilitate the project. The new installation of the jaw-dropping vignettes that students in Grade 8 to 12 had a hand in creating is located in the the front entrance and stairwell of their school. Not only does it highlight the legacy of one woman's journey, and how she saved thousands of American babies from birth defects, but also includes photographs of the Peoples, land and water of the area.
Before even stepping foot in the school visitors will be greeted by two vignettes on either side of the front door. One is a tribute to Dr. Frances Kelsey and some of the different stages of her life including the day the school was named for her, and her ties to the area. The other is a tribute to the Malahat Nation as it welcomes and invites visitors to enter the school in both English and First Nation languages to 'Come in and Learn the Teachings.'
“Come in and learn the teachings moves through five vignettes, beginning with cedar, then the languages of lummi, samish, hul’q’umi’num’, and SENĆOŦEN, to water, then seasons, and canoe," said Egeland.
All of these vignettes were created by the students with the help of a hired graphic designer. They had the opportunity to learn important and valuable teachings from Malahat Nation Elders Randy and Jennifer Daniels about both the land and the place where their school is located. According to Thom and Egeland eight students in Grades 8 through 12, from both Malahat and Quw’utsun’, were vital in bringing the 'Come in and Learn the Teachings' to life. From December, 2023 to this past May, students attended weekly sessions with Randy and Jennifer as they shared stories and teachings at the school and at Malahat which quickly transformed into a creative group.
It takes a village to create such beautiful meaningful vignettes. Ideas, images, languages, and meanings all started to take shape for the installation now permanently on display inside and outside of the school. To make this possible contributions and collaborations came from: the family members of Dr. Frances Kelsey, Malahat Councillor Shane Sylvester, Malahat photographer Jessica Harry, Samish artist Anabelle Baker, graphic artist Rebecca Jamin of Blink Design, and Leon Signs' Brandon Cassidy as well as language holders Daniels (samish-lummi), Jennifer Daniels (hul’qumi’num), (Dolly Sylvester (hul’q’umi’num’), and Virginia Joseph (SENĆOŦEN).
Many might not know that the word Malahat actually means caterpillar and it is believed that it was this little creature that first brought smallpox into the community. One of the Malahat vignettes is of Yos Mountain located just above the beach on Malahat Nation, which according to Elder Randy Daniels is a drug store because it is literally a medicine mountain.
"Randy says that everything you need in medicinal plants can be found on this mountain which is why it is so very important to the Malahat culture," said Egeland. "The Malahat people look to signs from nature: the bees coming would indicate that there would be lots of salmon, while a sign of thunder would mean it is time to travel to their fishing station. They would get up and understand the tidal system, and that it was messages from Yos Mountain and nature instructing them when it was time to do certain things."
One of the things that excited a lot of the students who were involved in creating the exhibit was seeing their names embedded into some of the Malahat vignettes. Each student got to choose where their name would be placed. Thom, said the graphic designer they hired would come in to do mock-ups with the students who then decided what adjustments they wanted to see made.
"The feedback has all been very positive," said van der Linden. "Our Malahat students feel a sense of ownership as many of their names are cleverly intertwined on one of the larger photos."
Malahat councillor Shane Sylvester sat in on sessions with students and together they brainstormed on how to visually bring the Malahat teachings, meanings and ideas to life, shining a light on everything from language, water, salmon, seasons, and the importance of the sacred cedar. One teachings reads: "Walking by the small cedar trees clears mind, body, and spirit."
"It is believed that when you brush against one, it takes the bad energy from you and holds it and if you wish to have it back then you can go ask for it back," said Edgeland. "I learned from Hul'q'umi'num that you are never to cut a cedar tree down, they can be trimmed, but never cut because they are so sacred."
"The project, like any journey, took a long time to complete and could not be hurried," said Thom. "Care and time were necessary to visit and revisit places of the past and present, learn from teachings, share stories, gain new insight, and reflect on these experiences as a school and community."
Do you know Dr. Frances Kelsey's story?
This is the question that visitors and community members will be greeted with when entering the school named for the famous pharmacologist in 1994. At the age of 80 Kelsey attended the official opening. She was born Frances Oldham in 1914 in Cobble Hill and later went on to move mountains in the field of pharmacology — the scientific study of the effects that both drugs, and chemicals have on living organisms. After joining the faculty of the University of Chicago in 1942 she met her future husband Fremont Elis Kelsey, whom she married the following year in 1943. Kelsey, who was the second woman ever to receive the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service from President John F. Kennedy in 1962, became famous for stopping the marketing of the drug Thalidomide, and her work on treating malaria with quinine which marked the first successful use of a chemical compound to treat an infectious disease.
When this project first got underway in 2019, FKSS Parent Advisory Council members reached out to Kelsey's daughters Susan Duffield, and Christine Kelsey who were more than happy to provide an array of nostalgic and heartwarming photos of their mother for the permanent exhibit, which included a sweet one of her and her father on the day he returned home from the First World War in 1919.
PAC members were also put in touch with Vancouver Island University history professor Dr. Cheryl Krasnick Warsh who released her new biography Frances Oldham Kelsey, the FDA, and the Battle Against Thalidomide in May of this year. She had the privilege of interviewing Kelsey in 2012 and said that one of the biggest highlights of working on this book for her were the relationships she formed with Kelsey’s daughters, and of course getting to sit down with the impressive pharmacology pioneer herself just two years before her centenary celebration in 2014. Krasnick Warsh played a vital role in locating some of the historical images and stories for this school project by not only gathering photographs and anecdotes from Kelsey's family members but also taking a deep dive into past newspaper and magazine articles, scientific journals, interviews, and excerpts from her autobiography.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words but what has emerged from this photo exhibit on the pharmacology pioneer is an impressive story which spans the life and legacy of Kelsey from Cobble Hill, B.C. to Capitol Hill, DC, highlighting her groundbreaking work as a female scientist and medical doctor that changed the world.
The permanent photo installation that tells both the story of Kelsey's life, as well as the teachings and history of the Malahat people has certainly changed the way students view their school and the storied history behind it. Below are some anonymous quotes from students reflecting on the experience.
“Working and learning together reminded me of how the community aspect of my culture is represented in schools with classrooms and group projects.”
“I hope the school keeps the projects there as a way to represent the Malahat People.”
“I had no idea that the Malahat People were called [MÁLEXEL] because of the caterpillars.”
“My favourite vignette is the Cedar because of the background and the story behind it.”
“I was surprised to see my name on the wall.”
“My favourite part of the project was the canoes because it is rich with history and prospective future goals of our people and canoe pulling is a lot of fun.”
“My favourite vignette is the canoe because it shows how experienced the people were with canoes and it shows the history of their travel.”
“My favourite vignette is the canoe because I am in the picture.”
“Ten years from now, I wonder if the students will have thoughts about some of the things on the walls.”
The school hosted a community event to celebrate the exhibit on the evening of Nov. 21, where the public was invited to see it. Many special guests were present for the occasion, including Krasnick Warsh, who not only read passages from her new biography, but also a personal note written to the school from Kelsey's daughters who said: “She received many honours for her work but her most cherished was always the naming of this school after her. We look forward to seeing it in person.”
Kelsey, who was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000, died in London, Ont. at the age of 101 on Aug. 7, 2015. Less than 24 hours before her death Ontario’s Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell visited her home to present her with the insignia of Member of the Order of Canada for her role against Thalidomide.
"I hope that everyone who visits our school will appreciate that the Malahat Nation and other Hul'q'umi'num speaking people gently walked on the lands where Frances Kelsey Secondary School now stands," said van der Linden. "I also hope that they appreciate the contribution that Dr. Frances Kelsey made in blocking the introduction of Thalidomide in the United States and the thousands of lives she saved."
