Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces
In 2010, five magnificent Blackfoot shirts, now owned by the University of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, were brought to Alberta to be exhibited at the Glenbow Museum, in Calgary, and the Galt Museum, in Lethbridge. The shirts had not returned to Blackfoot territory since 1841, when officers of the H...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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Athabasca University Press
2021
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| Online Access: | 19825 |
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| _version_ | 1869522298758758400 |
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| author | Laura Peers Alison K. Brown |
| author_browse | Alison K. Brown Laura Peers |
| author_facet | Laura Peers Alison K. Brown |
| author_sort | Laura Peers |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | In 2010, five magnificent Blackfoot shirts, now owned by the University of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, were brought to Alberta to be exhibited at the Glenbow Museum, in Calgary, and the Galt Museum, in Lethbridge. The shirts had not returned to Blackfoot territory since 1841, when officers of the Hudson’s Bay Company acquired them. The shirts were later transported to England, where they had remained ever since. Exhibiting the shirts at the museums was, however, only one part of the project undertaken by Laura Peers and Alison Brown. Prior to the installation of the exhibits, groups of Blackfoot people—hundreds altogether—participated in special “handling sessions,” in which they were able to touch the shirts and examine them up close. The shirts, some painted with mineral pigments and adorned with porcupine quillwork, others decorated with locks of human and horse hair, took the breath away of those who saw, smelled, and touched them. Long-dormant memories were awakened, and many of the participants described a powerful sense of connection and familiarity with the shirts, which still house the spirit of the ancestors who wore them. In the pages of this beautifully illustrated volume is the story of an effort to build a bridge between museums and source communities, in hopes of establishing stronger, more sustaining relationships between the two and spurring change in prevailing museum policies. Negotiating the tension between a museum’s institutional protocol and Blackfoot cultural protocol was challenging, but the experience described both by the authors and by Blackfoot contributors to the volume was transformative. Museums seek to preserve objects for posterity. This volume demonstrates that the emotional and spiritual power of objects does not vanish with the death of those who created them. For Blackfoot people today, these shirts are a living presence, one that evokes a sense of continuity and inspires pride in Blackfoot cultural heritage. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-62277 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Athabasca University Press |
| publisherStr | Athabasca University Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-622772023-12-20T15:54:32Z Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces Laura Peers Alison K. Brown HT51-1595 colonialism Truth and Reconciliation aboriginal peoples museum studies first nations museology heritage items sacred objects bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFS Social groups::JFSC Social classes In 2010, five magnificent Blackfoot shirts, now owned by the University of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum, were brought to Alberta to be exhibited at the Glenbow Museum, in Calgary, and the Galt Museum, in Lethbridge. The shirts had not returned to Blackfoot territory since 1841, when officers of the Hudson’s Bay Company acquired them. The shirts were later transported to England, where they had remained ever since. Exhibiting the shirts at the museums was, however, only one part of the project undertaken by Laura Peers and Alison Brown. Prior to the installation of the exhibits, groups of Blackfoot people—hundreds altogether—participated in special “handling sessions,” in which they were able to touch the shirts and examine them up close. The shirts, some painted with mineral pigments and adorned with porcupine quillwork, others decorated with locks of human and horse hair, took the breath away of those who saw, smelled, and touched them. Long-dormant memories were awakened, and many of the participants described a powerful sense of connection and familiarity with the shirts, which still house the spirit of the ancestors who wore them. In the pages of this beautifully illustrated volume is the story of an effort to build a bridge between museums and source communities, in hopes of establishing stronger, more sustaining relationships between the two and spurring change in prevailing museum policies. Negotiating the tension between a museum’s institutional protocol and Blackfoot cultural protocol was challenging, but the experience described both by the authors and by Blackfoot contributors to the volume was transformative. Museums seek to preserve objects for posterity. This volume demonstrates that the emotional and spiritual power of objects does not vanish with the death of those who created them. For Blackfoot people today, these shirts are a living presence, one that evokes a sense of continuity and inspires pride in Blackfoot cultural heritage. 2021-02-12T07:58:16Z 2021-02-12T07:58:16Z 2016-10-14 21:34:07 2016 book 19825 9781771990370 9781771990394 9781771990387 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/62277 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/visiting-with-the-ancestors http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/visiting-with-the-ancestors-laura-peers/1121719820?ean=9781771990394 http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120249 Athabasca University Press 10.15215/aupress/9781771990370.01 10.15215/aupress/9781771990370.01 6b1b8af7-79e4-4b18-b297-b983df0f073f 9781771990370 9781771990394 9781771990387 232 open access |
| spellingShingle | HT51-1595 colonialism Truth and Reconciliation aboriginal peoples museum studies first nations museology heritage items sacred objects bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFS Social groups::JFSC Social classes Laura Peers Alison K. Brown Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces |
| title | Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces |
| title_full | Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces |
| title_fullStr | Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces |
| title_short | Visiting with the Ancestors: Blackfoot Shirts in Museum Spaces |
| title_sort | visiting with the ancestors blackfoot shirts in museum spaces |
| topic | HT51-1595 colonialism Truth and Reconciliation aboriginal peoples museum studies first nations museology heritage items sacred objects bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFS Social groups::JFSC Social classes |
| topic_facet | HT51-1595 colonialism Truth and Reconciliation aboriginal peoples museum studies first nations museology heritage items sacred objects bic Book Industry Communication::J Society & social sciences::JF Society & culture: general::JFS Social groups::JFSC Social classes |
| url | 19825 |
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