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Sep 13, 2026, 2:00 PM

Sean Griffin on the Pacific Tribune

A black and white photograph depicting a group of people, including men, women, and children, participating in a protest. They are holding signs with various messages related to Indigenous rights and grievances. The setting is outdoors, with some construction activities in the background. One child is seated in a folding chair holding a sign, while others stand closely together. The clothing styles reflect the era of the photograph.

Part of demonstration by Squamish band picketing under Lions Gate bridge. 132 acres of land cut off from reserve under terms of McKenna-McBride commission. Some 60 picketers, June 2, 1975. Courtesy of the Pacific Tribune Photograph Collections, Special Collections and Rare Books, Simon Fraser University Library. 

Sean Griffin

Sunday, September 13, 2026, 2PM
Andrew Petter Hall

Photographer Sean Griffin reflects on his many years as a staff photographer and editor at the Pacific Tribune, a weekly Vancouver labour newspaper. Originally established by the Communist Party of Canada as the B.C. Workers’ News in 1935, the newspaper began publishing under the name Pacific Tribune in 1946. For most of its history, it relied on photographs borrowed from other publications for illustration and the year 1972 marked the first time that staff was specifically assigned to photography. The Pacific Tribune Photograph Collection comprises over 40,000 35mm images and is held by SFU’s Special Collections and Rare Books. 

Contributors

  • Sean Griffin

Sean Griffin began his working life with jobs in the shipyard and steel fabricating industries and combined that with an honours degree in English. In 1972, he became Assistant Editor, and later Editor, of the weekly newspaper Pacific Tribune. He was the paper’s first photojournalist, bringing news photography to the paper’s pages during one of the most vibrant periods of labour and social activism in British Columbia. Known as “B.C.’s only labour weekly,” the Tribune reached a wide audience and the addition of images from numerous social movements drew the attention of people throughout the province. In 1982, Griffin was joined on staff by Dan Keeton, who brought his own photographic skills, adding new interest to the paper’s weekly editions. Griffin later took up the position of Editor of (and photojournalist for) The Fisherman, published by the United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union (UFAWU). His photographs from that work are part of another archive now held by SFU Special Collections and Rare Books.