The story I found so alarming was that of Louis Riel, who is quite the local hero and said to be a champion of Indigenous rights, while the artifacts (mostly letters and other written documents) displayed in the museum were quite shocking to my contemporary self. I understand the desire to side with power for ones' own survival and I'm not an expert on the topic, so I'm left unsure how to make sense of it.
When I was in Winnipeg they were reworking the displays in another section of the museum in partnership with Indigenous leaders, not to say that the outcome of that is the outcome of an equal partnership. Quite a few Canadian history museums are undergoing similar updating processes.
Seeing how little changed in all those generations (and the shift from one continent to another) is certainly a reminder that the past is not over.
That’s so interesting ,Cori. We’ve had similar adjustments here in Australia. When I see such adjustments I wonder what future generations will find a bit cringey about our mainstream ideas and beliefs. Thank you, as always, for your thought provoking words.
I’m going out on a limb here because I’ve visited neither place/museum. They can matter, if the myths perpetuate harm by making the broader, less negatively affected population feel that the past is over and we’re all moving into a brighter future together, when maybe we aren’t: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00203-0/fulltext#:~:text=Nowadays%2C%20Indigenous%20people%20face%20systemic,school%20in%20Canada%20in%201996.
The story I found so alarming was that of Louis Riel, who is quite the local hero and said to be a champion of Indigenous rights, while the artifacts (mostly letters and other written documents) displayed in the museum were quite shocking to my contemporary self. I understand the desire to side with power for ones' own survival and I'm not an expert on the topic, so I'm left unsure how to make sense of it.
When I was in Winnipeg they were reworking the displays in another section of the museum in partnership with Indigenous leaders, not to say that the outcome of that is the outcome of an equal partnership. Quite a few Canadian history museums are undergoing similar updating processes.
Seeing how little changed in all those generations (and the shift from one continent to another) is certainly a reminder that the past is not over.
That’s so interesting ,Cori. We’ve had similar adjustments here in Australia. When I see such adjustments I wonder what future generations will find a bit cringey about our mainstream ideas and beliefs. Thank you, as always, for your thought provoking words.