Toward an Indigenous Curatorial Practice
Learning From Tłı̨chǫ Metaphors of Care to Establish Principles of Curation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24224306 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rebecca L Bourgeois (Department of Anthropology Western University London Ontario Canada), Karen Gelderman (Department of Culture and Lands Protection Tłı̨chǫ Government Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories Canada) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-13 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Anthropologist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7294 • E-ISSN: 1548-1433 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/aman.70119 |
| OpenAlex | W7221612281 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 31 |
The displacement of items of cultural heritage from Indigenous communities is continually perpetuated through their appropriation into collection systems that are inappropriate to Indigenous laws and customs. This paper presents the efforts of the Tłı̨chǫ Government (TG) to address such issues by creating a system that is rooted within its values and traditions for the curation of its cultural heritage. It is embarking on this journey through the creation of its digital archive and the development of programming for its community museum in Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. This process first entailed stepping back to carefully consider Tłı̨chǫ traditions of caring for knowledge and cultural heritage through learning circles and a Strong like Two methodology. Analyses of these results were then used to infer principles of curation—ownership, preservation, stewardship, and categorization. This research contributes to the decolonization of the field of cultural heritage management (CHM) and presents a leading example of how the exercise of sovereignty over cultural heritage by Indigenous Nations stands to reactivate displaced belongings within their communities.
community museums · cultural heritage appropriation · Digital Archives · study circles · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Cultural Identity and Heritage · Digital and Traditional Archives Management
The People of Denendeh
More Than Personal Communication
Engaging Respectfully with Indigenous Knowledges
Institutional Readiness for Community– University Alliances
Making museums, making people
Tłı̨chǫ nàowoò hoghàseètǫǫ
Indigenous Archaeology as Decolonizing Practice
Building a Bridge to Cross a Thousand Years
Protecting Traditional Knowledge and Expanding Access to Scientific Data
Decolonizing Methodologies
Imperfect Translations
A Bundle of Relations
Reconceptualizing Repatriation as the Power to Decide
Copyrighting the Past
Categories and boundaries in Sámi exhibitions
| Highly cited | No |
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