Some of the wooden carvings displayed in the museum
The often overlooked history of indigenous peoples in North America and their exploitation by Europeans is still a contentious issue in Canada. As history museums are usually conservative, a safe way to explore indigenous cultures is by visiting UBC’s Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. They have a huge collection that is cleverly displayed using their system of stacked drawers. Visitors are also able to see more information on a particular artefact through the use of an interactive touchscreen terminal.
If you’ve been to UBC before you might have noticed that every speech begins by acknowledging UBC’s existence on the “traditional, indigenous, and unceded land of the Musqueam Nation.” The Musqueam people have been around for over 10 000 years, then the colonial invader just took it without asking. Our anthropology class got a before-hours tour of the museum and learned a lot of information from the tour guide.
One of the most interesting facts was that western red cedar was used in the construction of longhouses and totem poles because of their longevity. They last over 100 years outdoors before decomposing, the museum is helping to preserve these pieces of history by placing them indoors in climate controlled environments. It is such as pity that some of the paint have come off many of the artefacts, otherwise we would have seen a lot more artistic variation between crafts of different tribes.
Indigenous cultures have been diminishing partly due to colonial ambitions, residential schools, and a lack cultural awareness. The museum is just a small part of a nationally concerted effort to revive native languages and cultures so we can celebrate strength in our diversity.
