In this minisode, Michelle explores decolonizing museums and repatriation.  While many of us love going to museums, wandering around discovering far away history through the items displayed, have you ever thought of where those items came from, how they came to be on display thousands of kilometres away from their original home, and are we getting the accurate history of said item?  Michelle tells us the poignant story of a totem pole stolen from Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia, and how it finally made its way home. She also shares how museums are decolonizing their spaces, thus demonstrating the actions of reconciliation and how important history is still being written…and corrected. 

RESOURCES

Totem: The Return of the G’psgolox Pole (VIDEO; National Film Board of Canada)

Indigenous Repatriation of Ancestral Remains and Artifacts (Indigenous Corporate Training Inc.)

Repatriation of Artifacts (Canadian Encyclopedia)

Canada’s museums are slowly starting to return Indigenous artifacts (Maclean’s Magazine)

An Artifact of Colonialism: The Canadian Government’s Obligation to Assist Indigenous Repatriation Efforts (The McGill International Review)

In the News: Repatriation of Indigenous Artifacts (AU Press)

Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre

U’mista Cultural Centre

G’psgolox Totem Pole – Haisla and Sweden and the Stockholm Museum of Ethnography (Artemis; University of Geneva)

The Case of the Chief G’psgolox’s Totem Pole “Rescuing,” Keeping, and Returning (Baltic Worlds)

Janis Monture appointed 1st Indigenous CEO of Canadian Museums Association (CBC News)

How Can you Decolonise Museums? (Film; Museum Next)

What Does it Mean to Decolonize a Museum? (Museum Next)

Shaheen Kasmani – The Past is Now

Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian Museums (pdf)

Repatriation Handbook (Royal BC Museum)

Removing the colonial lens: The push to decolonize museums in Canada (APTN News)

Ripping the band-aid off: Resignations and repatriations on the road to museum decolonization (APTN News)

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