Conference Roundtable on First Nation and Researcher Collaborations on Archival and Museum Repatriation
In May 2024, Towagh and Sarah had the pleasure of organizing a roundtable at the CASCA conference in Kelowna on First Nation and researcher collaborations for archival and museum repatriation. Towagh and Sarah were excited to present alongside community leaders and researchers who are leading the way in support of Indigenous data sovereignty.
Participating alongside Brian Holmes from Upper Nicola Band (UNB), Anna Kay Eldridge from Simpcw First Nation, and Bradley Clements from the Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts & Cultures (GRASAC), Towagh and Sarah spoke about several Kwusen projects, including our 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.
Towagh, Sarah, and UNB Councillor Brian Holmes also spoke about the collaborative work between Kwusen and the Upper Nicola Band. Over the past decade, this work has expanded from Traditional Use Studies to cumulative effects assessments, cultural heritage and environmental monitoring, and Syilx land and water management studies. Notable projects include UNB Councillor Brian’s innovative use of Kwusen’s GeoKeeper app to identify cultural heritage sites in the path of the White Rock Lake forest fire (read more here); the completion of a Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA) that utilized a unique methodology based on the Four Chiefs captikwł, which is a syilx oral story and foundational tenet of syilx law; and an ongoing study focused on developing an Indigenous baseline for the Upper Nicola Watershed. Kwusen is excited to continue to work with UNB to support their Syilx governance, land management, and cultural heritage research.
It was a pleasure to present alongside Brian and to hear about the exciting projects being undertaken by the other panel participants, including Anna Kay Eldridge’s work to develop a community archive that support Simpcw’s rights, interests, and community programs, and Bradley Clement’s work with the Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts & Cultures (GRASAC) to locate, study, and create deeper understandings of Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat (Great Lakes region) arts, languages, identities, territoriality and governance. We look forward to hearing more about these important projects and continuing our collaborative work with Upper Nicola Band, Simpcw First Nation, and other communities.
