Annual Report, 2015-2016

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Annual Report, 2015-2016 Image used with permission from Rae Hutton, Design by Lauren Bosc THINKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM: DIFFICULT KNOWLEDGE IN PUBLIC Annual Report SSHRC Partnership Development Grant March 25, 2015 – April 30, 2016 Prepared by Lauren Bosc (Project Coordinator) This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. 2015-2016 THINKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM page 2 RESEARCH TEAM & ASSISTANTS: The Research Team includes: • Dr. Angela Failler (Project Director, University of Winnipeg) • Dr. Heather Igloliorte (Concordia University) • Dr. Erica Lehrer (Concordia University) • Dr. Monica Patterson (Carleton University) • Lauren Bosc (Project Coordinator, University of Figure 1: Research Team members (L to R): Erica Lehrer, Angela Failler, Winnipeg) Heather Igloliorte, and Monica Patterson. (photo credit: Lauren Bosc) The Research Assistants on this project for the reporting period include: • Michelle K. Barron (MA student, Carleton University) • Sylvia Dreaver (Dueck) (BA Hons. student, University of Winnipeg) • Anna Huard (MA student, University of Winnipeg) • Alexandra Nahwegahbow (PhD student, Carleton University) • Amy Prouty (MA student, Carleton University) • Jordana Starkman (BA student, Concordia University) • Travis Wysote (PhD student, Concordia University) 2015-2016 THINKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM page 3 PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES: Research Meetings/Workshops Inaugural Team Meeting (Winnipeg, August 8-10, 2015) From August 9-12, 2015, the PDG team met in Winnipeg, Manitoba to launch “Thinking Through the Museum: Difficult Knowledge in Public.” The four-day meeting involved collaborators and research assistants, and included a field trip to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation’s Museum of Canadian Human Rights Violations, a visit with curators and researchers at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and a visioning session for the project. Figure 2: Visitors to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation take in the temporary bridge built by the community toward "Freedom Road." (photo credit: Lauren Bosc) Collecting and Displaying Inuit Art Workshop (Winnipeg, February 12, 2016) Thinking through the Museum team members Angela Failler, Heather Igloliorte, Sylvia Dreaver (Dueck), and Lauren Bosc participated in a workshop with UWinnipeg faculty members, MA students, and staff from the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG). The workshop, which featured a lecture by Dr. Igloliorte, a tour of the WAG Inuit art vaults with Curator Darlene Wight, a discussion facilitated by Dr. Failler, and a presentation by WAG Director and CEO Dr. Stephen Borys, functioned as a productive space to think about how to Figure 3: Research team members view new Inuit Art acquisitions in “think through” Inuit art and curatorial the WAG's art vault (photo credit: Lauren Bosc) practices. 2015-2016 THINKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM page 4 A large part of the discussion also involved “thinking through” the WAG’s vision for an Inuit Art Centre. This Centre, which would house and display the WAG’s 13,000 Inuit art pieces, will include programming for people of all ages to celebrate and learn about Inuit art through exhibitions, research, education, and art making. Decolonizing Curatorial Pedagogies Workshop (Ottawa, April 15-16, 2016) This workshop focused on the challenges and possibilities of curating as pedagogy, by examining various pedagogical tools, methodologies, partnerships, and projects that seek to decolonize curatorial practices and engender ethical engagement with the painful histories we inherit. The workshop included tours of the Canadian Museum of History, “Temporal Re-Imaginings” at the Canada Council for the Arts, and “Indigenous Walks” with Jaime Koebel. It also featured a “live” interview of Carleton Research Assistant and curator Alex Nahwegahbow by UWinnipeg Research Assistant and Art History student Sylvia Dreaver (Dueck). This interview was both a response to Alex’s exhibit “Temporal Re-Imaginings” and an opportunity for students involved with the project to discuss their connections to the workshop theme. The workshop also included engaging presentations from members of the Canadian Museum of History’s staff, roundtables focusing on decolonizing curatorial pedagogies in the classroom, museums, and galleries, as well as a keynote address from Dr. Amy Lonetree, which was attended by more than 150 people. Skype Meetings During this reporting period, research team members engaged in three PDG specific skype videoconference meetings (October 29, 2015; January 25, 2016; May 4, 2016). The purpose of these meetings was to discuss the ongoing partnership activities and projects, as well as plan for upcoming research meetings and workshops. 2015-2016 THINKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM page 5 Museum/Gallery Visits and Ethnography Prompt Sheets We Were So Far Away: The Inuit Experience of Residential Schools Members of our research team visited the travelling exhibit “We Were So Far Away” on November 27, 2015 while it was displayed in the atrium of the United Way of Winnipeg (580 Main Street, Winnipeg MB). This exhibit, which features stories and photographs from eight Inuit residential school Survivors, was on display in Winnipeg from November 18-30. After the visit, some team members shared “SnapThoughts” about their experiences: The exhibition title expresses so much with so little: We Were So Far Away – Inuit residential school students were so far away from family, so far away from their culture, so far away from hope. While Survivors’ voices are heard through the display of archival photographs alongside highlighted memories, I found it difficult to connect to the material in the chosen space (the United Way centre lobby on Main Street in Winnipeg). Ultimately, it was the accompanying exhibition book that allowed me to engage on a deeper level with the difficult and powerful stories shared in the exhibit. – Sylvia Dreaver (Dueck) One of the things that struck me about the archival photographs of residential schools included in We Were So Far Away is that while the names of Monseigneurs, teachers and even some of the photographers appear Figure 4: Members of the research team at the exhibit, Nov. with the original documentation, the 27, 1015. (photo credit: Lauren Bosc) students were often left nameless. Namelessness is itself evidence of how the students were treated as objects of regulation rather than subjects of their own experiences at the schools. The exhibit’s juxtaposition of these photos with current day profiles of survivors works to recover their agency in the face of such violent erasure. –Angela Failler 2015-2016 THINKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM page 6 As I read the short descriptions of photographs shared by each Survivor, I was struck by one in particular that accompanied an image of a group of residential school children. Lillian Elias noted that although she thought she was one of the children in the photo, she did not recognize herself in any of the faces. For me, this comment resonated through the rest of the exhibit as the Survivors attempted to recognize themselves in the trauma of the IRS system. – Lauren Bosc Forgotten: The Métis Residential School Experience Members of our research team visited the exhibit, “Forgotten: The Metis Residential School Experience” Exhibit presented by Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations at Red River College, on December 4, 2015. This travelling exhibit features images, poems, found objects, and curated content, all of which engage with the subject of the Métis people of Canada a their experiences with the Residential School system. The Witness Blanket Members of our research team visited the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to view “The Witness Blanket” exhibit and hear the artist talk on January 20, 2016. Carey Newman (Ha-yalth-kingeme), a master wood carver of British, Kwagiulth, and Salish ancestry from Vancouver Island, is touring his work across Canada over the next 7 years. The piece includes objects collected from Indian Residential Schools, survivors, and family members in Canada from coast-to-coast-to-coast. After the visit, some team members shared “SnapThoughts” about their experiences: Figure 5: Witness Blanket excerpt. (photo credit: Angela Failler) Listening to the artist speak to the layers of story and memory in his piece brought The Witness Blanket to life. His description of the emotional labour that went into working with and through the objects was as powerful and moving as the piece itself. Learning from difficult knowledge requires more than collecting information about the past. – Lauren Bosc The Witness Blanket IOS Mobile App is one of the most effective digital extensions of an exhibit I have encountered. It brings home the depth of the collection, making its objects accessible beyond the museum itself. It also raises the question of how difficult knowledge might be mediated through exhibition design. – Angela Failler 2015-2016 THINKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM page 7 To me, the braids of hair near the center of the blanket represent the notion of losing connection to culture. This detail illustrates the robbed childhood of a (First) Nation and a legacy of abuse many Canadians have yet to come to terms with. – Anna Huard Canadian Museum of History: Grand Hall, First Peoples Hall The research team visited the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa on April 15, 2016. Before hearing presentations about the proposed Canadian History Hall, opening July 1, 2017, the team toured the Grand Hall and the First Peoples Hall. Temporal Re-Imaginings On April 15, 2016, The research team
Recommended publications
  • Center for Performance Studies
    Sarah Bay-Cheng Sarah Bay-Cheng [pronounced Bay-JUNG, rhymes with “sung”] is the Dean of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design at York University in Toronto, Canada. She was formerly Chair and Professor of Theater and Dance at Bowdoin College, teaching theater history and theory, dramatic literature, and intermedia performance. Her research focuses on the intersections among theater, performance, and media including cinema history, social media, and digital technologies in performance. Recent publications include Performance and Media Taxonomies for a Changing Field (2015) and Mapping Intermediality in Performance (2010) as well as essays in Theater, Contemporary Theatre Review, and Theatre Journal, among others. She edits the Palgrave book series, 1 of 4 Avant-Gardes in Performance and is a co-host for On TAP: A Theatre and Performance Studies podcast. Bay- Cheng frequently lectures internationally and in 2015 was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She has served on the boards of Performance Studies international and the Association for Theatre i Higher Education, and is currently a member of the Executive Committee for the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR). Bay-Cheng has also worked as a director and dramaturg with particular interest in intermedial collaborations and a fondness for puppetry. Daphne A. Brooks (https://afamstudies.yale.edu/people/daphne- brooks) Daphne A. Brooks is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of African American Studies, American Studies, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies & Music at Yale University. She is the author of two books: Bodies in Dissent: Spectacular Performances of Race and Freedom, 1850-1910 (Durham, NC: Duke UP), winner of The Errol Hill Award for Outstanding Scholarship on African American Performance from ASTR, and Jeff Buckley's Grace (New York: Continuum, 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • Death and Life for Inuit and Innu
    skin for skin Narrating Native Histories Series editors: K. Tsianina Lomawaima Alcida Rita Ramos Florencia E. Mallon Joanne Rappaport Editorial Advisory Board: Denise Y. Arnold Noenoe K. Silva Charles R. Hale David Wilkins Roberta Hill Juan de Dios Yapita Narrating Native Histories aims to foster a rethinking of the ethical, methodological, and conceptual frameworks within which we locate our work on Native histories and cultures. We seek to create a space for effective and ongoing conversations between North and South, Natives and non- Natives, academics and activists, throughout the Americas and the Pacific region. This series encourages analyses that contribute to an understanding of Native peoples’ relationships with nation- states, including histo- ries of expropriation and exclusion as well as projects for autonomy and sovereignty. We encourage collaborative work that recognizes Native intellectuals, cultural inter- preters, and alternative knowledge producers, as well as projects that question the relationship between orality and literacy. skin for skin DEATH AND LIFE FOR INUIT AND INNU GERALD M. SIDER Duke University Press Durham and London 2014 © 2014 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper ∞ Designed by Heather Hensley Typeset in Arno Pro by Copperline Book Services, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Sider, Gerald M. Skin for skin : death and life for Inuit and Innu / Gerald M. Sider. pages cm—(Narrating Native histories) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978- 0- 8223- 5521- 2 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978- 0- 8223- 5536- 6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Naskapi Indians—Newfoundland and Labrador—Labrador— Social conditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Heather Igloliorte, Ed. Sakkijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut Charlotte Jones
    Document generated on 09/29/2021 3:16 p.m. Newfoundland and Labrador Studies Heather Igloliorte, ed. SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut Charlotte Jones Volume 33, Number 2, 2018 URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1058082ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1058082ar See table of contents Publisher(s) Faculty of Arts, Memorial University ISSN 1719-1726 (print) 1715-1430 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this review Jones, C. (2018). Review of [Heather Igloliorte, ed. SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut]. Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, 33(2). https://doi.org/10.7202/1058082ar All Rights Reserved ©, 2019 Newfoundland and Labrador Studies This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ book reviews Heather Igloliorte, ed. SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut. Fredericton, NB: Goose Lane Editions, and St. John’s: The Rooms Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador, Provincial Art Gallery Division, 2017. ISBN 978-0-86492-974-7 SakKijâjuk: Art and Craft from Nunatsiavut was published as a cata- logue to accompany the exhibition of the same name at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery from October 2016 to January 2017 (currently on view at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and touring across the country).
    [Show full text]
  • Dare to Be Different!
    TOURISM DESTINATION VISITOR APPEAL ASSESSMENT: LABRADOR REGION Labrador Tourism Destination Visitor Appeal Appraisal Dare to Be Different! Conducted by: Submitted by: Tourism Café Canada & Brain Trust Marketing & Communications (January 2015) TOURISM DESTINATION VISITOR APPEAL ASSESSMENT: LABRADOR REGION Map of Labrador Visitor Region Submitted by: Tourism Café Canada & Brain Trust Marketing & Communications (January 2015). TOURISM DESTINATION VISITOR APPEAL ASSESSMENT: LABRADOR REGION Executive Summary In 2009, the tourism industry and province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) released their vision to double tourism revenues to $1.58B by 2020. Titled Uncommon Potential: A Vision for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism (Vision 2020) this document has been a blueprint growth in NL guided by seven strategic directions. Underpinning the vision is respect for home, residents, travellers, communities and profitability. Labrador is an emerging destination that has been described as the ‘last tourism frontier’ to be developed in North America. VISION STATEMENT Newfoundland and Labrador be a leading tourism destination, offering an authentic and exotic experience, through the ‘creativity brand pillars of people, culture and the natural environment’. Uncommon Potential Situated near the iconic Gros Morne National Park and the Viking Trail, which have had decades of investment and collaborative development, comparatively Labrador is in its infancy. As such, for tourism to be key economic driver of growth, building regional pride, and creating employment, it requires significant infrastructure investments such as roads and communications, but also requires building the human resource capacity and the depth, diversity and quality of authentic experiences that attract high- yield residents and non-resident travelers to experience “The Big Land.” Strategic directions #4 was product development aimed at ensuring NL delivers memorable, travel experiences to attract visitors from around the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Newfoundland & Labrador's
    NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRAdor’s VitalSigns® A province-wide check-up of quality of life in Newfoundland & Labrador communities for 2016. A collaboration between the Community Foundation of Newfoundland & Labrador and Memorial University’s Harris Centre. instead of Corner Brook, Parson’s Pond the 2016 national report explores how Cana- VitalSigns instead of Paradise. dian communities make their members feel So in this year’s report, we’re focusing included and what we can do to build strong on what it means to live in both urban and and lasting relationships with our neigh- BONAvistA rural areas of this province. To dig deep bours. Visit vitalsignscanada.ca to download into the differences between these types the national report. of communities, we’ve enlisted the help of How we as a country understand and Alvin Simms and Jamie Ward, promote belonging is all the more im- whose work on functional portant as we invite new Cana- economic regions gives dians to our shores. On page us a way to break the 14 of this report you’ll province down based find a story of what on population and one region is doing to how far residents make Syrian refugees have to travel for We’re focusing on feel at home and how services. You may what it means to live they see welcoming be surprised to in both urban and new immigrants as an learn where your rural areas of this important investment Welcome. community fits in and province. in the future for rural what other places you parts of the province. have the most in common We would like to From Paul McDonald, Chair, Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador with: your community’s thank TC Media, our media and Rob Greenwood, Executive Director, Harris Centre.
    [Show full text]
  • Written Submission to Special Senate Committee on the Arctic by Stephen Borys, Phd, MBA, Director & CEO, Winnipeg Art Gallery November 2018
    Written submission to Special Senate Committee on the Arctic by Stephen Borys, PhD, MBA, Director & CEO, Winnipeg Art Gallery November 2018 The Inuit Art Centre project at the Winnipeg Art Gallery As we build the new Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, I am constantly thinking about – and rethinking – the idea of the museum; not just what it looks like, but how it functions, communicates, and what and who it stands for today. The Winnipeg Art Gallery houses the world’s largest collection of contemporary Inuit art with close to 14,000 carvings, drawings, prints, textiles, and new media. In addition, the Government of Nunavut has placed on long-term loan their entire fine art collection comprising almost 8,000 works. The WAG began collecting Inuit art in the 1950s when this art form was largely unknown in Canada’s south. Supported by an unparalleled record of exhibitions, publications, research, and outreach, this collection represents Inuit identity, culture, and history – and it lies at the heart of the Inuit Art Centre journey. To celebrate the art and to honour the people who have created these Inuit works, the WAG is building an Inuit Art Centre, the first of its kind in the world. This new 40,000 square foot structure, adjacent and connected to the Winnipeg Art Gallery, will be a centre for exhibitions and programs, research and learning, studio practice and artmaking. It will be a bridge, enabling peoples from the North and South to meet, learn, and work together. It will be a gathering place— a community hub for exploration and advancement—with the art serving as a lens on Canada’s Arctic.
    [Show full text]
  • Senate Committee on the Arctic
    May 3, 2019 Canada Research Coordinating Committee Senate Committee on the Arctic April 3rd Meeting Follow-up May 3, 2019 Canada Research Coordinating Committee SSHRC Materials Senate Committee on the Artic - Follow-up to April 3rd Meeting Materials included: 1. List of programs (new and existing) that are open to Indigenous communities, researchers and not for profits 2. List of research projects/programs funded under circumpolar collaboration 3. Number of northerners and Indigenous northerners on board of governors 4. Copy of the National Dialogue Summary Notes (SSHRC on behalf of the agencies) List of SSHRC programs (new and existing) open to Indigenous communities, researchers and not-for-profits Available Participant Roles Program Sub-program Indigenous Researchers Indigenous Communities Indigenous Not-for-profit Organizations Insight Research Insight grants Applicant (if affiliated with an Professional service providers Professional service providers eligible Canadian postsecondary institution) End-users or any other role other End-users or any other role other Co-Applicant (if affiliated with an than PI or Co-applicant or than PI or Co-applicant or eligible Canadian postsecondary collaborator collaborator institution) Collaborator- no restriction Insight Development grants Applicant (if affiliated with an eligible Canadian postsecondary institution) Co-Applicant (if affiliated with a postsecondary institution) Collaborator- no restriction Research Training and Talent Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Applicant (if undertaking master’s
    [Show full text]
  • Concordia University Detailed Faculty Information
    Concordia University Detailed Faculty Information Year University Year Hired Departed Professor Gender B.A. BA (Country) M.A. MA (Country) Ph.D. Ph.D. (Country) Subfield Specialization Concordia University 1969 2010 Sandra Paikowsky female George William Canada Toronto Canada None CANADIAN Canadian art Concordia University 1970 1996 Donald F. P. Andrus male Toronto Canada Toronto Canada None MODERN modern Concordia University 1970 1996 Ellen James female Penn USA Columbia USA McGill Canada ARCHITECTURE architecture Concordia University 1971 2005 Joan Acland female Carleton Canada Concordia Canada Concordia Canada ARCHITECTURE architecture Concordia University 1975 1982 Gary Walters male Princeton USA Princeton USA Princeton USA MODERN modern/Renaissance Concordia University 1975 2001 Reesa Greenberg female McGill Canada Toronto Canada None MODERN modern Concordia University 1977 1989 Laurier Lacroix male Ottawa Canada Montreal Canada Laval Canada QUEBEC Canadian/Quebec Concordia University 1977 1997 Edwy F. Cooke male Toronto Canada Iowa (mfa) USA None UNKNOWN UNKNOWN Concordia University 1977 1997 Hardy George male Texas USA UCLA USA University of London UK 19TH CENTURY 19th c. European Concordia University 1977 2007 Warren Sanderson male Boston USA Boston USA NYU USA EARLY MODERN Renaissance Concordia University 1978 1980 J. Russell Harper male Toronto Canada Toronto Canada NSCAD Canada CANADIAN Canadian Concordia University 1979 2012 Jean Belisle male Montreal Canada Montreal Canada Paris France ARCHITECTURE Architecture Concordia
    [Show full text]
  • Pilimmaksarniq | Pijariuqsarniq Report 2
    INUIT FUTURES IN ARTS LEADERSHIP: THE PILIMMAKSARNIQ | PIJARIUQSARNIQ PROJECT INAUGURAL EVENT: OCTOBER 16 – 20, 2018 At OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario SSHRC Partnership Development Grant Hosted by Toronto partners; Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD and Inuit Art Foundation Prepared by Adrienne Huard (Local Project Coordinator) This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Page !1 of !14 INUIT FUTURES IN ARTS LEADERSHIP: THE PILIMMAKSARNIQ | PIJARIUQSARNIQ PROJECT INUIT LEADERSHIP GROUP •Reneltta Arluk (Akpik Theatre) •Alethea Arnaquq-Baril (Unikkaat Studios) •Dr. Heather Igloliorte (Concordia University) •Jessica Kotierk (Nunavut Film Development Corporation) •Taqralik Partridge (Independent Artist) •Jesse Tungilik (Government of Nunavut) PARTNERS •Stephen Borys (Winnipeg Art Gallery) •Sandra Dyck (Carleton University) •Britt Gallpen (Inuit Art Foundation) •Karine Gaucher (La Guilde) •Anna Hudson (York University) •Serena Keshavjee (University of Winnipeg) •Lindsay Lachance (National Arts Centre) •Jason Lewis (Concordia University) •Julie Nagam (University of Winnipeg) •Alysa Procida (Inuit Art Foundation) •Ryan Rice (OCAD University) •Carla Taunton (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) •Katherine Wolforth (The Rooms Corporation) SECONDARY PARTNERS • RESEARCH ASSISTANTS •Adrienne Huard (OCAD University, MFA student) •Kathryn Florence Math (Concordia University, MA student) •Amanda Shore (Concordia University, MA student) •Emma Steen (Inuit Art Foundation, MA student at OCAD University) Page !2 of !14 INUIT FUTURES IN ARTS LEADERSHIP: THE PILIMMAKSARNIQ | PIJARIUQSARNIQ PROJECT PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES: Preliminary Meeting - Inuit Leadership Group, OCAD University, 12-4pm (Toronto, October 16, 2018) Members from the Inuit Leadership Group gathered to set goals and objectives for the midway point of the grant (Year 4 - 2021-2122). They also discussed certain challenges that may arise and how to monitor and measure the success of the project.
    [Show full text]
  • 2 Annual Symposium on the Future Imaginary
    Future Imaginary Symposium Kelowna - Heather Igloliorte Heather Igloliorte (transcript) 2nd Annual Symposium on the Future Imaginary hosted by University of British Columbia Okanagan & Initiative for Indigenous Futures 5 August 2016 Kelowna, British Colombia video available at http://abtec.org/iif/symposia/2nd-annual-symposium-on-the-future-imaginary/ [email protected] 03/02/17 Page 1 of 12 Future Imaginary Symposium Kelowna - Heather Igloliorte [pause] 00:30 Speaker 1: We now have the lovely Heather Igloliorte who will be speaking. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at Concordia University where she holds a New Scholar Research Chair in Indigenous Art History and Community Engagement. Heather's research, teaching, and curatorial practices center on native north American visual performance and new media art, the global exhibition of indigenous arts and culture, and issues of colonization, sovereignty and the three Rs, resistance, resilience, and resurgence. I'm really happy to welcome you here today, Heather, and looking... She's always a good speaker. [chuckle] So, I'm looking forward to it. Again. [applause] 01:20 Heather Igloliorte: Another no-pressure introduction. [laughter] Ulaakut, good morning everyone. I won't repeat all the same thanks as acknowledgements as our colleagues have already done. I think they've done a beautiful job. I wasn't sure if I missed the recognition of Ayumi as our organizer and I just wanted to give her a shout out for doing a wonderful job this weekend. [applause] 01:45 HI: My name is Heather Igloliorte. I am Inuit from Nunatsiavut, which is the Inuit region of Labrador, it's in the Eastern Arctic.
    [Show full text]
  • Inside Stories: Agency and Identity Through Language Loss
    INSIDE STORIES: AGENCY AND IDENTITY THROUGH LANGUAGE LOSS NARRATIVES IN NUNATSIAVUT by © Martha MacDonald A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Interdisciplinary Program Memorial University of Newfoundland June 2015 ABSTRACT This thesis examines narratives told about language loss in the Inuit territory of Nunatsiavut in Northern Labrador, NL, based on forty-five interviews carried out in 2002/2003 and in 2013/2014. (These are narratives in the folkloristic sense of a text that tells a story.) Language shift in Nunatsiavut has progressed rapidly since the mid- twentieth century until the current population of active speakers is low enough to cause concern about the survival of Inuttitut. The following questions were addressed: what people think caused the decline of the language; what the effect of Inuttitut language retention or shift has been on Labrador Inuit identity; and how these narratives have changed in their character and use over time. Analysis of the interviews and accompanying research on Moravian education, literacy, and the use of narrative revealed that people’s explanations for language loss varied according to their age, and, accordingly, they had different ideas on the importance of Inuttitut retention as a part of Inuit identity. The oldest generation of people interviewed, most of them Inuttitut speakers, identified a combination of circumstances that arose from community decisions, but they retained their feeling that the language was a vital part of identity. The next generation felt that Inuttitut had been removed from their communities through the combined forces of school, church and government, and felt that it was possible to be Inuit without the language, but that it continues to be important.
    [Show full text]
  • “We Were So Far Away”: Exhibiting Inuit Oral Histories of Residential Schools Heather Igloliorte
    GSPNUIFCPPL$VSBUJOH%JGGJDVMU,OPXMFEHF7JPMFOU1BTUTJO 1 1VCMJD1MBDFT &EJUFECZ-FISFS .JMUPO1BUUFSTPO “We were so far away”: Exhibiting Inuit Oral Histories of Residential Schools Heather Igloliorte In the spring of 2008, two Inuit residential school Survivors1 from each of the four Inuit geographic territories of Canada—the Inuvialuit settle- ment region, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut—traveled to Ottawa, Ontario to share their stories for the creation of a national exhibition about the Inuit experience of the residential school system. During the sensitive filmed interviews, the Survivors recounted the impact that residential schools had had on their lives before, during, and after their time as students. Individually, their stories described a range of distinct circumstances, as they attended schools in different times, in different parts of the country, and experienced varying degrees of abuse, trauma, and long-term negative impact. Yet read together, themes emerged that resonated across the stories of all eight of the Survivors, providing invaluable source material around which to build the exhibition. As curator of “We were so far away”: The Inuit Experience of Residential Schools, it was my great honor to conduct these interviews with the eight participants and bear witness to their personal testimonies. It was my responsibility to take care of these stories and the people who shared them with me. Doing so depended on the development of a unique curatorial approach to representing this sensitive knowledge to a particular hierarchy of audiences: residential school Survivors, Inuit communities across the Arctic and Subarctic where the exhibi- tion would tour, and the broader Canadian public. While these eight testimonies became the foundation of the exhibition, we also included historical images from archives across Canada, along with the Survivors’ personal photographs and objects that they felt were important to their memory of residential schools.
    [Show full text]