Museums and First Nations

Wilma Kenny | May 17, 2023

Last Saturday South Frontenac Museum had a full house come to hear a presentation about the complicated relationship between museums and indigenous peoples. Miriam Clavir, a long-time summer resident of the Frontenacs, and retired Senior Conservator at the Museum of Anthropology, UBC, titled her talk “Challenges, Changes and Common Ground”.

Emphasizing that a conservator’s job is to care for a collection, not curate (select and organize) it, she spoke of some of the challenges faced and lessons learned in working with the museum’s extensive collection of west coast art and artifacts.

She referred to conflicting viewpoints that raised questions as to what, why, for whom and how was the museum preserving things for other people? Just because an item is in a museum, must it be preserved by the museum? To Europeans, precious items are likely to be protected, kept in cupboards, on high shelves, so they can’t be damaged. They go into museums where they aren’t touched, loved or used. Aboriginal people, on the contrary, see special items such as potlatch gifts as something to be used, touched and loved. Should a museum lend out its artifacts, so they can be used, even though this use may put the physical preservation of the item in danger? Where does the meaning lie in a physical object?

For example, the memorial poles in one graveyard are gradually disintegrating in exposure to the weather: tourists have commented “Your people should look after them better.” The elders’ reply came that these poles are intended to gradually return to the earth.

Damage is what impairs the function of an item: “damage” becomes a social, not a material definition. On the other hand, deterioration caused by neglect can cause needless damage, and is not good.

Some conservation may threaten the authenticity of an item; the most skillful fibreglass repair to a wooden item may be unacceptable, where wood, even of another species, might be all right.

“Respect and listen,” Clavir summarized: “be prepared to think outside the box, to recognize intangible conditions, work through emotions to arrive at satisfactory solutions. There is a role for the museum, but not necessarily a ‘traditional’ one.”

The afternoon ended with servings of Clavir’s favourite ice cream all around.