Museums, Heritage and Indigenous Voice: Decolonizing Engagement

Current discourse on Indigenous engagement in museum studies is often dominated by curatorial and academic perspectives, in which community voice, viewpoints, and reflections on their collaborations can be under-represented. This book provides a unique look at Indigenous perspectives on museum community engagement and the process of self-representation, specifically how the First Nations Elders of the Blackfoot Confederacy have worked with museums and heritage sites in Alberta, Canada, to represent their own culture and history. Situated in a post-colonial context, the case-study sites are places of contention, a politicized environment that highlights commonly hidden issues and naturalized inequalities built into current approaches to community engagement. Data from participant observation, archives, and in-depth interviewing with participants brings Blackfoot community voice into the text and provides an alternative understanding of self and cross-cultural representation.

Author: Bryony Onciul
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 07/14/2015
Pages: 282
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.10w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9781138781115

About the Author

Dr. Bryony Onciul is a Lecturer in Public History at the University of Exeter. She researches, teaches, and publishes in her areas of interests, including community engagement, indigenising and decolonising museology, identity and performance, understanding place, difficult histories, repatriation, truth and reconciliation, and the power and politics of representation.