Gregory Brass joined the staff at Aanischaaukamikw as Assistant Executive Director

On May 12th, Gregory Brass joined the staff at Aanischaaukamikw as Assistant Executive Director.

Gregory has done considerable work with the Cree Health Board and is completing his PhD in medical anthropology at McGill University, but has returned to one of his earlier interests, museum studies.

We all welcome Gregory and are happy to share his reflections on his first days here.

Gregory writes….

It took me 5 minutes to fall in love with Aanischaaukamikw. Truly, this is a stunning building! Dr Stephen Inglis, Executive Director, gave me a full tour upon the morning of my arrival. Overall I am in awe by what the facility has to offer and impressed by what the staff has accomplished in such a short period of time. The exhibit space is tastefully done and shows great respect for the objects and Cree culture. How the exhibited items have been displayed shows attention to detail as well as thoughtfulness given to the layout and the needs of visitors. Before I even started my new job I also looked at the on-line exhibits; it was a real treat to see these important items in front of me. One thing I particularly liked was listening to the Elders speak. This unique approach adds to the visitor’s experience. Of course, it is the floor below where the all action occurs.

 

My tours included the stored collections and various workspaces. This is part of what I love about working in cultural heritage facilities – the advanced mechanics and sophisticated technologies that make the place run, all the hidden corridors, and the storage spaces full of often old and fascinating materials. One can feel the steady hum of focussed activity. Over the past week I have been getting to know the staff working here. I am deeply impressed by all of them. They really know their areas of professional responsibility well. They bring with them a high level of education along with significant past experiences and training. Importantly, their individual commitment to each other and the organization is evident. From what I have heard and seen so far there is a strong collective motivation to see this place succeed in its mission to promote Cree culture and bring it forward into the future. In my position as Assistant Executive Director, my aim will be to help foster this potential, not just for the facility, visitors and future generations but the people who will make Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute a successful world class museum and centre for celebration and learning. What a fabulous place to work! I am honoured to work here and look forward to working with all of you!

Introduction to Traditional POW-WOW Dancing & Outfit Making Workshop

The weather has changed, finally, winter has come and gone and summer is quickly approaching and the powwow circuit is starting to heat up.  In August, Ouje-Bougoumou will host its 4^th annual Powwow and this year is going to be special.  This will be the first time that the Ouje-Bougoumou Powwow will actually happen in the community, and there is a great deal of excitement surrounding this event. 

 

Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, in partnership with the community of Ouje-Bougoumou is presenting a Powwow workshop.   We have two accomplished dancers, Paula Menarick and Gabriel Whiteduck here to teach. All are welcome including youth, those that are interested in Powwows and those that are veterans of Powwows. Paula and Gabriel will be teaching basic dance techniques and the art of making regalia for this summer’s Powwow. In addition, they will be discussing the meaning of a Powwow and what happens during this event.  

Meet our interns

Aanischaaukamikw has brought aboard two summer interns.  Tania Lariviere and Siikuun Wapachee have join our team as tour guides and summer programmers.  They will be here to offer visitors tours of the exhibit and building, as well as helping to run some of our summer programming.

Welcome to all.

Suzanne Kitchen, Tour Guide

Aanischaaukamikw has hired a new tour guide, Suzanne Kitchen brings a life time of traditional knowledge with her to this position.  Suzanne has spent much of her life living in the bush, continuing to practice her culture in the setting of her ancestors.  We are very pleased that she has joined our team as she has a wealth of knowledge to share with others.

Welcome to the team….

Our first visitor using a mountain bike

Michel Bayard is from Albany, New York.  He is 70 years old.  He started his journey using his vehicle from Albany to Montreal and continued by bike to Ouje-Bougoumou.  He travelled using forestry roads through Obedjewan.  He plans to continue his journey to Waswanipi.

If you see him on the road, please do stop and greet him.  Show him Cree hospitality.

We want to wish him safe travels…

Staff Viewing Newly Loaned Artifacts from the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

COMING SOON TO AANISCHAAUKAMIKW!

Staff Viewing Newly Loaned Artifacts from the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

A collection of James Bay Cree artifacts will be temporarily on exhibition at the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute.

The artifacts includes: Two spectacular hoods, a pair of woman’s leggings, a wall pocket made of porcupine quill and a child’s bag.

Staff examined the collection to discuss their construction materials and possible uses.

Thank you Christine!

Our spring intern Christine Desroches is a museum tech student from College Montmorency.  She is finishing up her last week here at ACCI and we asked her to write a few lines about her time here at Aanischaaukamikw.  We were very happy to have her as part of our team!

Already 6 weeks! I had a wonderful experience at ACCI and I am grateful for having the chance of doing my internship here.

I had the chance to do what I love to do the most, which is being a museum technician, with a fantastic collection. I also had the chance to learn and discover the Cree culture and history.

During my time here, I had the chance to practice what I’ve learned in class (that was important to me) and to learn about museums, archives and library practices. I had the chance to be surrounded by passionate people who took the time to help me, show me and discuss with me. I am grateful for the trust they had in me and that they integrated me in the everyday life in a museum institution.

As part of my internship, I did the unpacking and documentation of the framed artwork, but I also had the chance to do a variety of action. I did the documentation of the shovel that was used for the ground breaking for the ACCI. I took pictures of artefacts, vacuumed archives, did an inventory of the collection (which is beautiful!) and plenty other actions to help the conservation of the collection.

 I want to say thank you to everyone at ACCI for their warm-hearted welcome. It has been a pleasure for me to work with the team.

Guest post by Christine Desroches

Spring Cleaning!

The museum may be closed to the public during Goose Break, but museum staff have been working hard to do some spring cleaning before the museum opens again.

The library got a full cleaning last week.  Everything from shelves to carpets were washed in preparation for the summer.

One of the best ways to make sure that pests and insects stay out of the museum is to keep things clean.  Visitors often ask us about the little inset traps and mouse traps that are set all over the museum and why they are there.  We set the traps to make sure that our collections are safe from all kinds of different pests that would like nothing better then to eat everything we keep.

The museum staff members make sure that the insect traps are checked on a regular basis.  They keep track of all the different kinds of bugs that they find during the year and look for areas that might need to be watched. Spring is a very busy time for bugs and traps have to be checked more often then in the winter, notably around the front doors.

Cleaning does happen on a daily basis in the museum, but spring cleaning is always a great time to make sure we catch up on everything.

Have a great Goose Break everyone!

Guest post by Raegan

Notes from ACCI's Spring Intern - Christine Desroches

Christine came to ACCI in April from College Montmorency where she has almost completed the Techniques de Museologie program.  Her internship is 6 weeks long and we at ACCI are happy to have her here!  We asked Christine to write about the projects that she has been working on here at ACCI.

My first project at ACCI was to do the complete documentation of 11 framed artworks. These artworks are part of a long-term loan from the CRA Board of Compensation. Some of them are already on display in the open storage area of the hallway leading to the exhibition. Doing the documentation of an object is allowing it to enter the museum world and be preserved it for generations to come.

Unpack

Each artwork was individually wrapped. It was a simple packing and undoing it was easy. While taking the artwork out, I had to look for any sign of damage.  I also had to look in the wrapping for any pieces that could have fallen off.

Condition Report

After putting down the artwork on cushioning foam, I filled in a condition report. On this report, I write and locate any damage that the object could have. There is also a small part about the object’s measurements and description. Finally, if the object has any special needs or if I have to make a recommendation for the conservator I also write that down in this report.

The condition report is really important when receiving a new object in a museum. It allows us to know all the damages from his previous life, as well as, in the long term, know if a deterioration is new or was already there. We could say that the condition report is like a medical exam that we do for every object to keep it healthy.