Research Catalog

Title

This is our life : Haida material heritage and changing museum practice / Cara Krmpotich, Laura Peers ; with the Haida Repatriation Committee and staff of the Pitt Rivers Museum and British Museum.

Author

Krmpotich, Cara Ann, 1978-

Publication

• Vancouver, BC ; Toronto : UBC Press, [2013]
• ©2013

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Peers, Laura L. (Laura Lynn)

Description

xix, 292 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm

Summary

"In September 2009, twenty-one members of the Haida Nation came to Oxford and London to work with several hundred heritage treasures at the Pitt Rivers Museum and the British Museum. The encounter set a new course for the relationships between the custodians of these cultural artifacts and the indigenous people for whom the objects are a direct link to their past. Emotional and illuminating, tense and challenging, it was a transformative visit that none would soon forget. Featuring contributions from Haida people -- weavers, carvers, language speakers, youth, and Elders -- and museum staff -- curators, conservators, and collections management staff -- who participated in the project, and a rich selection of illustrations, This Is Our Life details the remarkable story of the Haida Project, from the planning to the visit itself and through the years that followed. A fascinating look at the meaning behind objects, the value of repatriation, and the impact of historical trajectories like colonialism, this is also a tender story of the understanding that grew between the Haida visitors and museum staff, as conflicting ideas about subjects as difficult as the repatriation of human remains and the white-gloved institutional approach to handling historical objects became a two-way dialogue." -- Publisher's website.

Alternative Title

Haida material heritage and changing museum practice

Subject

• Haida Indians > Museums
• Haida Indians > Material culture
• Museums and Indians > Great Britain
• Cultural property > Repatriation > Great Britain
• Museum techniques > Great Britain

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 266-279) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

The paths bringing us together -- Preparations for the visit -- Moments of encounter -- Why go there? an interlude / Ruth Gladstone-Davies -- Reflecting on the visit -- Maintaining relationships into the future -- Museums as they are, and museums as they might be -- Appendix : Conservation kits.

ISBN

• 9780774825405 (bound)
• 0774825405 (bound)
• 9780774825412 (pbk.)
• 0774825413 (pbk.)

OCLC

• 855946892
• SCSB-12228363

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library