Following Bill Reid’s death, members of the First Nations and arts communities, friends of Bill and Martine Reid, and governments shared the vision that a permanent memorial to this great Canadian artist should be created.

They believe Bill Reid’s art is so exquisite and his legacies so important, they must be preserved . . . that his story must be told and the collection of his works exhibited in a manner and place accessible to future generations. And his personal collection of his art and memorabilia must remain intact and in Canada. That his legacies must not be lost.

• The important first step was to secure Bill and Martine Reid’s personal Collection of mostly his work, but also some of his predecessors and successors. (See The Collection)

• The main project of the Foundation then became to house the Collection and planning was begun for a Bill Reid Centre in downtown Vancouver for the Bill Reid Foundation Collection, along with some work by other Northwest Coast artists. A library, small film theatre, gallery shop, and café were planned as well. A major search for a site was underway when several First Nations leaders and others urged the Foundation to broaden the concept and lead planning for a national institution for all Canadian aboriginal art – First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Work began in earnest on this ambitious idea in 2004, and in the fall of 2005, the Project Implementation Plan for a National Aboriginal Art Gallery was published and distributed to key decision-makers across the country.

• The first major event created by the Foundation as a legacy project and as a benefit was The Spirit Concert. Held May 18, 2002 at the Chan Centre in Vancouver, it was a spectacular tribute to Bill Reid as well as an exciting concert on its own merit. The oratorio, The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, composed by Bruce Ruddell to Reid’s poem in tribute to his masterpiece sculpture, was performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Bach Choir. The Rainbow Creek Dancers from Haida Gwaii performed traditional dances and songs, and other performers included Bruce Cockburn, Guujaaw and Karen Jamieson Dance Company.
  
  The concert was followed by a gala feast created by seven of Vancouver’s leading chefs and seated in a tent on the grounds of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology in front of Bill Reid’s recreation of a Haida village.
  
  The Foundation was able to make small donations from the proceeds again to the Haida House and to legacy scholarships which it supports: the Bill Reid Award at the University of Northern British Columbia and the Bill Reid scholarship at the Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design.
  
• Annual Reports: