Days 10-14 of the Heritage Preservation Project!

After steady travel for a week and a half, meeting many wonderful people and cultural-heritage groups, we decided to come home to Ouje-Bougoumou for a little rest.  We will visit community members and Band Office/Culture Department staff in Ouje-Bougoumou soon.

In Wemindji we began our visit with a stop at the Cultural Centre and met Cultural Coordinator Kerry-Lynn Stewart, Archivist Katherine Scott, and Director of Community Services Stella Lameboy-Gilpin.  They showed us the Centre's collection of ancient fossils, archaeological findings, carvings and maps, as well as the Wemindji Sound Archive and the Place Names Project database. 

The current home of the Cree Nation of Wemindji Culture Department. 

Notes gathered on the fossils collection.

Days 7, 8 and 9 of the Heritage Preservation Project!

The second phase of our visit in Waskaganish really had us on the go!

Stopping in briefly at the local radio station - Waskaganish siibi ayimuyabii - roles were reversed and WE were interviewed by Program Manager, Kevin Whiskeychan, for an on-air radio promo of the project.  Then we had a chance to look at the variety of recording formats  - reel to reel; cassette, mini-disk - that were used by the station overtime to record local music performances and conversations, and discussed digitization as an option for preserving recordings as players become obsolete.

We visited the Cree Culture classroom of teacher Ricky Jolly (Ecole Wiinibekuu School) and enjoyed his explanations of the making of traditional items, such as carved decoys, children's toys and natural traps and snares.  He had decorated his classroom with displays of his own family heirlooms, providing inspiration for his students' projects.  Ricky emphasized the importance of preserving traditional skills and knowledge, as well as the Cree language, and noted that he tries to record his father's Cree words for tools and materials - words that he himself doesn't know or has forgotten.

Cree Culture teacher Ricky Jolly talking about traditional methods of finishing carved goose decoys.

A Night at the Museum

Did you ever wonder what happens at night in a museum? Did you ever see the movie “A Night at the Museum” with Ben Stiller? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if history came to life like in the movie? We could ask questions that only those who lived through historical events would know the answer to. What would you ask about our collection?

While here at Aanischaaukamikw we don’t have wax figures or models of historical figures on display, history does in fact come to life at night in our museum. The history that comes to life is not like in the movies. We rotate artifacts, taking a few objects out and replacing them with new ones. The history that comes alive is a new story about an artifact that has yet to be seen, and the stories that are told about these items.

The rotation of our collection occurs when the exhibit is closed and it is a very delicate process. Removing the acrylic top is the first step and it must be done very carefully. The acrylic top is there to protect the artifacts and the last thing that we would want to do is damage any of the items on display, thus lifting the acrylic top has to be done ever so carefully. Once the top is removed, the artifacts are removed (very carefully) then placed acid free tissue. Are you wondering why we are wearing gloves when handling objects? It is because we do not want to get any oils from our hands on the artifacts and risk damaging precious objects.

Once the original artifacts have been removed, placing the new items is the next step. Again, handling with care is essential in this process. Once the artifacts have been nicely placed and are ready to be viewed by all it is time to put acrylic top back on.

Now that the acrylic top is covering the artifacts can be enjoyed by all and a new story can be told about each and every new object on display. Really, while it is nice to think the museum comes to life at night, it really comes to life during the day when visitors to ACCI view and shares their thoughts on the items on display.

Although at night time…….

Days 4, 5 and 6 of the Heritage Preservation Project!

Our stops in Chisasibi focused on archival materials and how the Cree Nation of Chisasibi catalogues and stores materials, and ensures important files are backed-up by scanning them.  

The Cree Nation of Chisasibi Administrative Centre.

We also had time to sneak in a quick visit to the Catholic Church that had been moved by barge when the community of Fort George was relocated to Chisasibi in 1981, and to see the building of the Chisasibi Heritage Centre. 

Then we were off again, headed to Waskaganish!

The Waskaganish logo etched into a glass wall at the Waskaganish airport.

Days 2 and 3 of the ACCI Heritage Preservation Project!

We had excellent conversations with members of the Whapmagoostui First Nation today and learned about the recently founded Cultural Association which will collect traditional knowledge and material heritage.  We also had an informative discussion with Reverend Tom Martin regarding the history of the Anglican Church in Whapmagoostui, including the first church ("Old Church"), the second church, and the current, third, church.  

Lisa discussing the painted mural in the current church with Reverend Tom Martin.  The mural had been commissioned for the second church and was later moved to the current church once the building was completed.

Claire transcribing some of the conversations recorded earlier in the day into the survey binders.

Small gifts (ACCI lanyards) for the elders we ate lunch with at the MSDC on our last day in Whapmagoostui.  Behind the group and traveling around the room are framed photographs of local couples from decades ago until the present.

Claire boards the plane for our next flight to Chisasibi!

  In Chisasibi our first stop is the Cree Nation of Chisasibi administration office, where we will speak to the former archivist about collecting and preserving records since the Fort George relocation.

- Chisasibi: October 31 - November 2
- Waskaganish: November 2 - 7
- Ouje-Bougoumou: November 8 - 9
- Wemindji: November 12 - 14
- Eastmain: November 14 - 16
- Waswanipi: November 19-20
- Mistissini: November 21 - 22
- Nemaska: TBD