12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Being a Good Relation:
The Role of Cultural Heritage Institutions in
Reconciliation
Dr. Kisha Supernant, Director,
Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology, and Associate
Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of
Alberta
Moderator: Jodi
Simkin, President, BC Museums Association
About the Keynote Session
In this keynote, Dr. Kisha Supernant will speak to the Truth and
Reconciliation (TRC) Calls to Action and United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to discuss how the heritage sector
can respond in meaningful ways and with the direction of Indigenous
communities.
Heritage professionals have the opportunity to learn to be a
good relation to Indigenous peoples as Canada moves to implement
UNDRIP. Dr. Supernant will discuss the role of archaeology and
cultural heritage in reconciliation and resurgence, drawing on
examples of her work with community partners from Enoch Cree
Nation, Papaschase First Nation, and the Métis Nation of
Alberta.
Image courtesy of
Dr. Kisha Supernant.
About the Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kisha Supernant is Métis / Papaschase / British and the
Director of the Institute of Prairie and Indigenous Archaeology at
the University of Alberta. An award-winning teacher, researcher,
and writer, her research interests include the use of digital
technologies in archaeology, Indigenous archaeology, and
heart-centered archaeological practice. Her research with
Indigenous communities in western Canada explores how
archaeologists and communities can build collaborative research
relationships. She is the Director of the Exploring Métis Identity
Through Archaeology (EMITA) project, a collaborative research
project which takes a relational approach to exploring the material
past of Métis communities, including her own family, in western
Canada. Recently, she has been involved in work locating the
resting places of ancestors and relatives in historic cemeteries
and around residential schools with Indigenous communities. She has
published in local and international journals on Geographical
Information Systems (GIS) in archaeology,
collaborative archaeological practice, Métis archaeology, and
Indigenous archaeology in the post-TRC era.
About the Moderator
Jodi Simkin's work in the heritage sector began 30 years ago
through an undergraduate co-op placement at the
Secwépemc Museum and Heritage Park, located on
the Kamloops Indian Reserve. Since then, her professional life has
been devoted to issues of social justice as both an archeologist
and a museum professional. In addition to her role as the President
of the British Columbia Museums Association (BCMA), she is also an
appointed member of the BCMA Indigenous Advisory Committee, and a
member of the Association on American Indian Affairs Repatriation
Working Group. Jodi recently authored a reflection paper on the
cooperative approaches to repatriation of ancestral remains and
related cultural patrimony for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO,
and is a curator partner on Knowledge Within: Treasures of the
Northwest Coast, a compilation of essays chronicling the First
Nations collections published by the UBC Museum of
Anthropology.