Conference Presentation on Kwusen Software Tools for Museum Repatriation: The Wap nłuudisk a txa’nii ndaa (Everywhere Museum) Project

Towagh Behr, Sdaahl K’awaas (Lucy Bell), and Theresa Schober at the AAA’s Annual Meeting in November 2023.

In November 2023, Towagh had the pleasure of presenting at the CASCA/AAA conference in Toronto as part of a panel on the repatriation work being conducted by Gitxaała Nation, Nisga’a Nation, and Haida Nation. Towagh was excited to be part of a panel of researchers who are leading the way in the field of Indigenous repatriation.

Presenting alongside Dustin Johnson, Cultural Program Manager with Gitxaała Nation, Theresa Schober, Nisga’a Museum curator and director, and Sdaahl K’awaas (Lucy Bell), PhD Candidate at SFU and Haida museologist, Towagh spoke about Kwusen’s collaborative work with Gitxaała on the Wap nłuudisk a txa’nii ndaa (Everywhere Museum) Project. Wap nłuudisk a txa’nii ndaa is a community-led project focused on identifying and repatriating belongings taken from the community and kept for generations by outside institutions. The project makes digital records of community belongings accessible to community members for review and identification so that Gitxaała research staff can prioritize and manage repatriation efforts.

Kwusen has been developing repatriation database features that can track the location and status of community belongings for this repatriation process through the Community KnowledgeKeeper (CKK), a digital tool already used by Gitxaała to manage cultural heritage and land use data. The CKK will make repatriated data accessible to community members for input, as well as viewable for members of the public through virtual museum pages. As Gitxaała works with institutions to repatriate belongings and digital materials, the repatriation database will serve as a community-controlled place for the nation to store, manage, and access the acquired data on community belongings in museums. Records in the virtual museum will be categorized, contextualized, and described according to community values and protocols. The museum will highlight Gitxaała culture, language and knowledge on their own terms. Kwusen will be offering these new CKK features to additional Indigenous communities in 2024.

We look forward to continuing this important work with Gitxaała Nation!