Remembrance as Learning

• In Event: Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: Locating Our Stories in Learning: Affirming Native Epistemologies

Abstract

How does the Walking With Our Sisters (WWOS) exhibit educate viewers to remember Indigenous women who have been murdered or are missing? Relatedly, museum exhibits have curated difficult knowledge about the Holocaust and Residential Schools; yet, little is known about the ongoing WWOS touring exhibit that is unique because it is conceived, guided, and curated by Aboriginal peoples. What can we learn from this exhibit? This collaborative ethnography uses Indigenous methods, specifically Smith’s (2012) projects of remembering and creating, to explore how practices of remembrance are designed and exhibited and the praxis that presenters, viewers, and communities take away. Data collection methods involve interviews and sharing circles at exhibit locations as well as document analysis. Findings and conclusions follow.

Author

• Leisa Anne Desmoulins, Lakehead University