Museum Blog

Yesterday we celebrated Treaty or Bobtail Day, an annual holiday to honour Chief Bobtail and his signing of Treaty 6 141 years ago. This treaty was signed for the benefit of ALL people who live in the treaty territory, first nations, settlers, and new comers alike. We are ALL Treaty People, but many of us don’t understand what this means.

There are 11 numbered treaties made between the Crown (representatives of Queen Victoria and her descendants) and First Nations People (and their descendants). We are in the territory of Treaty 6, the boundaries of which extend across the central portions of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Treaty 6 was first signed in 1876 at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan. A year later, on September 25^th, adhesions were made at Blackfoot Crossing of the Bow River. These adhesions were made by indigenous leaders who were not present at the initial signing. A mark (X) of “Kiskaquin or Bobtail”, who was the Chief of the Maskwacis or Bear Hills Cree, appears on this adhesion.

A treaty is a binding agreement between two independent nations and it outlines each party’s rights, benefits and obligations to each other. The text of Treaty 6 specifically reads the reason being “so that there may be peace and good will” between these two parties. It is impossible here to discuss the entirety of reasons for signing a treaty. It is generally agreed, however, that the British Crown wanted land for agriculture, settlement, and resource development. Indigenous leaders wanted to protect their traditional lands, resources, and ways of life. They were also deeply concerned about the spread of disease and the disappearance of the bison, a main food source. They believed that signing the treaties would ensure the survival of their people.

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Bobtail and other Indigenous leaders ceded their title to the land in exchange for provisions from the government that would help protect their people. These provisions included (but are not limited to) certain areas being “reserved” or protected from encroachment by settlers. Each person was to immediately receive $12 along with agricultural tools and supplies to work the land, as well as an additional $5 yearly. Included in the provisions was the promise that the government would open schools within the reserve land. Not seen in earlier treaties but added to Treaty 6 was a medicine chest for use by the people, and assistance for famine and epidemic relief. For a complete list of provisions please visit our website at www.wetaskiwinmuseum.com.

In many cases, the treaties proved to be disadvantageous to Indigenous people. For example, the agreed upon reserve land was intended for the purposes of cultivation, hunting, and fishing, not segregation. Further, some of this land was lost to dishonest deals with government agents, and Band councils that were struggling economically were often tricked into selling off some of their land or signed deals that resulted in the loss of mineral and natural resources. The Treaty 6 text reads for the provision of schools on reserve land “whenever the Indians of the reserve shall desire it”. This suggests that these schools were to be at the request of the Indigenous people, not the other way around, and not the forced relocation of children into residential schools, separated from their families and traditional way of life.

The terms of the treaty were (and are) not always interpreted the same between the two parties. Even for a native English speaker, the treaty text is cumbersome. We cannot be certain what the Chiefs believed they were agreeing to. This results in debates as to the intended spirit of the treaty vs it being a legal document meant to be interpreted word for word. For example, there remains a discussion as to whether the Medicine Chest clause refers specifically to a chest kept in the residence of the Indian Agent or more broadly designates modern healthcare as a treaty right. There is also differing worldviews and distinct concepts of land ownership. Indigenous people have a relationship with the land that informs their politics, spirituality, and economics. This is different than a colonial or capitalist view that often sees the land as something to be exploited. Treaties are a foundational part of Canadian society, a living document similar to the Canadian Constitution. Their interpretation is continuously re-examined and debated by Canadian and Indigenous lawmakers alike.

Ultimately, however, we are all treaty people. The treaties were signed for the benefit of all us living in the treaty areas, not just reserved lands, and we all have rights and obligations with respect to them. Just as we share the benefits of the treaties, we also share the negative impact that colonialism had. By understanding the truth of this colonial heritage, a heritage that we share, we can renew our relationships with each other and move towards meaningful reconciliation together.

Also published in the Wetaskiwin Times, October 3, 2018.

I woke up on labour day to images of heritage on fire. The pit remains in my stomach.

On the evening of September 2^nd, the National Museum of Brazil caught fire. The next morning, we saw largely just a shell of the 200-year-old building. Like all built structures, it has its own story to tell. Originally built in 1803 as a Royal Palace, it was home to two emperors and a king. It was also where Brazil’s independence was signed in 1822. Four years earlier, in 1818, the National Museum was founded by King John VI of Portugal. One of the oldest museums in the Americas, it moved into the former palace in 1892.

Prior to the fire, the museum stored and displayed more than 20 million objects. Estimates are as much as 90% of the collection is gone. At risk are items such as “Luzia” a skeleton of a woman who lived 11,500 years ago. It is one of the earliest skeletons found in the Western Hemisphere. Also housed at the museum was a large collection of South American and Egyptian Mummies alongside Roman Frescoes (paintings that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD). Add to this art and culturally significant indigenous material culture, some of it the only evidence we have of people whose nations have since disappeared, and audio recordings of their languages, including ones no longer spoken. Then there’s the scientific treasures from dinosaur fossils to a collection of lace bugs that are preserved in no other museum. The list goes on, it is almost unfathomable.

My thoughts largely remain with the museum workers and volunteers. One of the most heart wrenching photos for me had a tagline that read something to the effect of ‘museum staff crying over an artifact’. I suspect I look at this photo differently than most of you. Yes, we love our artifacts. Yes, we can get a little obsessive about them – I’m sure you’re familiar with our DON’T TOUCH chant. It’s not the artifacts, per se, that we are so passionate about, but what they embody.

On the first day our museum was open after the fire, a lady came in to donate her grandmother’s hand-sewn baby gown. The mere thought of parting from it brought her to tears for the simple reason that her family might not be forgotten now because it was safe (her words) in her local museum. This is the last tangible piece she has of the woman who raised her, and she entrusted it and her memories with us. Museums are full of items and stories like these. This is a responsibility that none of us take lightly.

As custodians of heritage, we spend years, sometimes decades, getting to ‘know’ these objects. We have the privilege of seeing and understanding how they are bound together through the people that gave them their stories, and how these stories can unite us. It is the people, their stories, and the connections that objects represent that we are passionate about. We also see how objects inspire. How they make us think. How they ignite the imagination of people of all ages. There is nothing more rewarding than when you see that light turn on in someone’s eyes because they have made that connection with their heritage.
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The fire was an incredible loss for the people of Brazil, and for all of us. Each artifact that was housed in that building had a story to tell, a story that helps us understand our world and our place in it, a story that can inspire. And each item had the potential to help us make those connections to the people around us. It does not take a National Museum, however, with millions of artifacts to engage with these stories and make those connections. Some of the most important ones happen at the six heritage institutions we have here in our own community: The Heritage Museum, City of Wetaskiwin Archives, Millet & District Museum, Archives and Visitor Information Centre, Samson Museum and Archives, Alberta Central Railway Museum, and the Reynolds-Alberta Museum.

Each person in our community is responsible for safeguarding these heritage resources for past, present and future generations. Come in and visit us, participate in our programs, support our fundraisers, donate your time or money if you can. Like the National Museum in Brazil, we too struggle on a day-to-day basis to keep our doors open and preserve our collections so that we may share their stories with you. Don’t take it for granted that we’ll always be there. One day we may not, and it won’t necessarily be because of a fire.

 

Originally published in the Wetaskiwin Times, September 12, 2018.

Did you take the opportunity to go to the Samson Pow Wow this weekend, or the Ermineskin one in July?

I vividly remember my first pow wow. I had seen Indigenous dancing before, but these were performances for an event, the Calgary Stampede, the opening ceremonies for the ’88 Olympics, etc. The pow wow, however, was different. Maybe this was simply because there was more of everything and I had a sensory overload. I think that it was different because I wasn’t witnessing culture, but instead experiencing it.  This wasn’t a showcase put on for my benefit to entertain. While there is nothing wrong with this kind of cultural exchange, and I still enjoy every performance I see, it is just not the same as going to a pow wow and truly experiencing it as a celebration for the entire community.  Pow wows are also more than just dancing, drumming and singing. They are a family friendly festival, a reunion, a food fair, and an arts and craft market. They can also include a variety of other activities such as traditional hand games, rodeos, golf tournaments, runs, and parades.

The earliest photographic evidence I have seen of such a celebration in our community is in one of my favourite items in the City of Wetaskiwin Archives’ collection. Dated to 1897, it depicts a small group on ‘Main Street’ Wetaskiwin. This is only 5 years after Wetaskiwin’s founding in 1892. If you look closely the group in the centre of the photo are sharing a pipe. They are accompanied by three hand drummers and encircled by what are presumably Cree people with the men on one side and the women on the other. What appears to be the Canadian Red Ensign (the de facto flag of Canada prior to 1965) is being flown above their heads.

The presence of the Red Ensign is significant. This photo was taken well within the time-line of restrictions put forth in the Indian Act of 1876, which for 75 years outlawed all Indigenous cultural and spiritual ceremonies unless sanctioned by the Canadian government for entertainment. We can assume that the ceremony we are seeing in the picture was one of these sanctioned events and for the benefit of the settlers surrounding the circle. Despite these restrictions, ceremonies and celebrations continued here in our community of Wetaskiwin City, County, and Maskwacis and across North America, though often in secret.

What we think of today as a pow wow really had its resurgence after WW2 when returning Indigenous veterans demanded freedom of religion and the right to practice their traditional ceremonies. This led to the restrictions being lifted in an amendment to the Indian Act in 1951, but after decades of suppression it has taken years to reteach and strengthen traditional culture and language. This is ongoing and often a theme of pow wows.

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I have heard many stories about going to Sundances and pow wows from people of all ages, for most they are remembered as fond memories of their childhood. These stories and the spectacular celebration we see twice a year at Bear Park are a testament to the resilience of our families, friends, neighbours, and colleagues.  The knowledge of this resilience gives me strength, and this weekend it created a moment of pride in what the people of our community have accomplished for the benefit of our future generations.

The Museum entered a float in both the Ermineskin and Samson pow wow parades. Our theme was “Sharing our History” and the float included museum board, staff, and youth network members who were joined by some very talented young dancers and surrounded by symbols of our community:  milk cans, a model horse, and replicas of the water tower and peace cairn. There was a moment during the parade where it hit me how incredibly lucky we were. Our combined heritage included Cree, German, English, French Canadian, Vietnamese, and Japanese, and we were all together on that trailer bed smiling, laughing, and of course dancing, all because of the pow wow.

We truly are privileged to live in a community that has at least two great pow wows every year (there are also smaller celebrations throughout the year). If you’ve been to a pow wow you’ll understand why these celebrations are one of the highlights of my summer and epitomize what I love about our community and its rich and diverse heritage. If you haven’t, don’t worry, because if the organizers are anything like me, they are already thinking about next year’s celebrations!

Originally published in the Pipestone Flyer, August 22, 2018.

What are your plans for the upcoming long weekend? Do they include celebrating your heritage? In 1974 the Government of Alberta declared the first Monday in August Heritage Day, an annual holiday aimed at recognizing and celebrating our story, the very thing that makes us who we are. I cherish this holiday because I can’t remember a time when heritage was not important to me, even if I didn’t always understand it the way I do now.

Growing up in Calgary, my family visited every historic site, monument, and museum we could.  Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Writing on Stone, the Frank Slide, and the Cave and Basin in Banff are some of the places that stand out as captivating me as a child. It is not the history of the places as much as the connection to the people who came before me and their stories that I loved, and this helped shape my identity as a proud Albertan.

Then, when I was 16 I had the opportunity to participate in a student exchange with West Germany. Isabel lived with us in the fall of 1989. On November 9^th she and my family sat in our living room and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall on TV. The images of all those people on the Brandenburg Gate and the Wall itself had a different meaning for each of us. My parents remember when the wall went up, they were about our age. Isabel and I didn’t know a world without it. History happened that day, but the most impactful part for me was seeing these images through my friend’s eyes, watching it shape her story. Each image brought with it emotions not only of past pains and current triumph for her country, but also of future uncertainty and struggles for her and her kin.

Months later it was my turn to live in Germany and we spent a week in Berlin. History says the official demolition of the Wall began on 13 June 1990, the journal I wrote confirms we arrived three days later. That week I was a part of history. I physically took a chisel to the Berlin Wall and literally participated in its destruction. A piece of it has been on display in every house I have lived in since. This is more than a piece of painted concrete that represents an historic event. It is a part of my story, my heritage, and it embodies these defining moments in my life that changed how I view the world and my place in it. It is also a symbol of when I first understood the emotional connections we have with our built environment and material culture, how objects can symbolize something greater than their three-dimensional form, how they can bring us together and cultivate our identity, and how they can have different meaning for different people.
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Subsequently, I have been fortunate to spend my adult life immersed in history, heritage, and culture. I have studied Plains Archaeology, Ancient History, and European Cultural Heritage. I have lived, worked, and studied abroad. I spent years researching and writing a 500-page dissertation on Cross Cultural Exchange in the Mediterranean (it’s not as riveting as it may sound).

Today, I have come full circle, back to those places, monuments, and stories I loved as a child, which are just as important as anything I have mentioned up to this point. I moved to this amazing community to work at the Heritage Museum, to share the rich heritage of Wetaskiwin City, County, and Maskwacis. Enjoy your well-deserved long weekend, and while you do take a moment to reflect on your own story and to celebrate aspects of your own heritage. What are your defining moments? Perhaps you will also take the time to visit a heritage site within our community, I know I will.