Indigenous Art Form as First Cultural Response to Decolonization: A Case Study at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

• In Event: 77.015 - Canadian Educational Researchers' Association

Abstract

The curatorial function of the relatively new human rights museum is to act as an intermediary between past atrocity and present social justice. However, as entrusted agencies of the state, museums in Canada are increasingly understood to contribute to the perpetuation of settler colonial memory regimes as dominant narratives of national identity. Through the analysis of an exhibit dedicated to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at the newly inaugurated Canadian Museum for Human Rights this article explores how museums in settler societies represent difficult knowledge and act as sites of decolonization, while suggesting how shared authority and nuanced Indigenous art forms might play a role in both. It offers insights into how museums in colonial societies might to evolve beyond the pretext of detached host to acknowledge past atrocities and injustices against Indigenous peoples.

Author

• Stephanie Anderson, The University of Pennsylvania