The Canadian Museums Association is calling for legislation, money and a cohesive national strategy to support Indigenous-led reconciliation in the museum sector.
The association detailed the work needed in a report released Tuesday that includes 10 recommendations to help spur Indigenous self-determination at every level of a museum’s operations.
Still, she recognized there is uncertainty in some institutions over how to go about talking to communities about artifacts that have a painful history: “fears of doing it wrong, fears of hurting people.” “There is a cost to inaction,” said George, curator of Indigenous history with the Canadian Museum of History and a guest curator at the Woodland Cultural Centre on the site of a former residential school, the Mohawk Institute, in Brantford, Ont.
A key step, says the report, is for museums to adopt “meaningful Indigenous governance with decision-making authority, not simply advisory bodies.” When items are repatriated, Indigenous rights holders must determine how best to care for them. Necessary, too, is more information about the scope of what, exactly, museums have in their possession — legitimate and otherwise, she added, recounting her shock years ago to stumble across commercially sold carvings by her great-great-grandfather Charlie James and her grandmother Ellen Neel in a Victoria museum.
"A lot of what happens is people will go in search under the current name of their tribe, and they'll find 10 to 15 other ways that their tribal name was spelled. So that's also a barrier."
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canadian Museums Association recommends 10 ways to decolonize heritage sectorThe Canadian Museums Association is calling for legislation, money and a cohesive national strategy to support Indigenous-led reconciliation in the museum sector.
Read more »
Opinion | Council votes this week on protecting an old soy sauce factory. Here’s what that says about affordable housing in TorontoCouncil votes this week on protecting an old soy sauce factory. Here’s what that says about affordable housing in Toronto. Toronto’s heritage planning division wants the site on Queen Street East designated a heritage property. Opinion by GraphicMatt
Read more »
Most Canadian post-secondary students are grappling with mental health challenges two years after the start of COVID-19Most post-secondary students are still grappling with the negative impact of the pandemic on their mental health. A new report is calling on the federal government to enact policies to address the mental well-being of students.
Read more »
Canadian Western-EQB deal makes sense after market thrashing: Analyst - BNN BloombergShares of small Canadian lenders have taken a pummelling this year, and one veteran analyst thinks the table could now be set for takeovers in the sector.
Read more »
Canada to close borders to dogs from more than 100 countries over rabies concernsThe move has been met with fierce opposition from some animal rescuers and advocates, but the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association says it’s necessary to protect people and dogs from a deadly disease
Read more »