Collaboration Through Digitization

Indigenous Collections

Safeguarded and Ready for Sharing COLLABORATION THROUGH DIGITIZATION

By Lou-ann Neel

Acting Head of Indigenous Collections and Repatriation

The Indigenous Repatriation Handbook was published by the Royal BC Museum in 2019. Over the past three years, the Indigenous Collections and Repatriation department (ICAR) has been steadily working on a range of digitization activities, including the digitization of the audio and video collection.

Earlier this year, 16,000 photo cards were added to the Royal BC Museum’s online database. Until now, these photos were only accessible during in-person visits. Over the years, community members from Indigenous communities across the province had added written notes to the back of the photo cards, piecing together the history of each photo. To preserve this work, the front and back of each card was scanned, making it possible for community members to view and learn from the existing notes. And since the photos are now stored in an online database, community members can continue to add additional information about each photo.

In addition to the scanning and digitizing of the photo collection, the ICAR audio collection is also in the process of being digitized. The audio collection comprises recordings collected over the past 60 years—including linguistic recordings (i.e., language lessons), recordings of feasts and potlatches, and interviews with fluent speakers from a wide range of First Nations communities in British Columbia. In addition, there are recordings created by researchers studying in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, ethnology and linguistics.

Of the 4,000+ audio recordings, 2,329 have been digitized so far, and the remainder will be digitized once copyright and access rights are cleared with the individuals who created the recordings. While this is a significant milestone in our work to digitize the audio and photo collections, there is still much to be done.

Brian Seymour, collections manager showing select items from the Indigenous collection.

Over the next three years, ICAR will finish digitizing the remaining audio and photo collections. We will also start to work on digitizing film and analogue video, as well as any written documentation related to these resources.

As the collections are digitized, we will develop plans with the communities represented in these audio recordings, photos, films and videos to ensure any access to or use of these resources aligns with the applicable articles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This is important work, as the Province of British Columbia enacted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in November 2019. This declaration calls on all government departments and agencies to develop action plans that enable UNDRIP to be implemented.

This work is also extremely important in terms of the Royal BC Museum’s work in repatriation. Audio, photo, film, video and document collections represent both tangible and intangible cultural property that is as much a part of the repatriation process as other cultural treasures currently housed and cared for in the museum.

As collections are digitized, ICAR will be working closely with Indigenous communities and the museum’s Learning department to identify resources that can support learning activities hosted by the museum. This is part of our commitment to implement UNDRIP as part of our ongoing school programs, public education, visitor programs and activities.

ICAR has also supported this commitment by partnering with the YVR Foundation’s Arts Scholarship program, providing artist-research time for recipients of YVR scholarships who are seeking to study specific works.

In 2019, ICAR and the Learning department expanded on this work by embarking upon a special project to increase access to the Indigenous collections by inviting Indigenous artists to spend time at the museum over the summer months. This project enabled artists to work on their respective arts projects, demonstrating a range of artistic practice including carving, painting, beading, wool weaving, cedar-bark weaving and more. While artists were on site, they could arrange time to take a tour behind the scenes and study specific historic and contemporary artworks. There were plans to continue this project in the summer of 2020, but because of the onset of COVID-19, these plans were postponed. They will resume when it is safe to do so.

Since it is anticipated that COVID-19 will continue to impact access to the Indigenous collections and galleries at the museum, ICAR has been working on revised action plans that we anticipate will provide continuing access to the collection while generating new creative opportunities for museum and community collaborations. (continued on the next page)

A small selection of the 16,000 photo cards that were digitized this year.

1. Musqueam woman spinning goat wool. Coast Salish. Northwest Coast. 1915. Newcombe collection. PN00083.

2. View of Ahousat village. Nuu-chah-nulth. Northwest Coast. 1914. Unknown collection. PN02398.

3. Indigenous man fishing for salmon with purse net near Spuzzum in 1926. Coast Salish. Unknown collection. PN06764. One such example is the way we are now working with First Nations that are involved in the BC Treaty Process. Prior to COVID-19, First Nations involved in the treaty process would arrange to tour the Indigenous collections in person to view cultural property that would be part of their respective treaty agreements. As we are unable to host large groups for the foreseeable future, we are embarking upon a video-visit approach that will see each of the identified items recorded on video and shared with the First Nation. This will enable the First Nation to share the videos with Elders, youth, artists and negotiators. In addition to video footage provided to First Nations communities, copies of the videos will remain with the Indigenous Collections. The benefits of this work are two-fold: first, the community will have footage that can be used for their own cultural education and community history programs; and second, the museum will retain a copy to serve as a back-up for the community and also to record the museum’s work in repatriation. An added benefit of this particular initiative is that it supports training and added experience for Indigenous videographers within each community and the Royal BC Museum alike. We are excited about this interim solution, and we anticipate this becoming part of our ongoing practice, even once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

We are also excited to begin work on creating a website version of the Indigenous Repatriation Handbook. The work has commenced and the site is expected to be available on the Royal BC Museum website by early 2021. The new online version of the Indigenous Repatriation Handbook will enable community stories of repatriation to be shared, as well as other information and resources requested by museums around the world.

Over the next three years we will continue with our digitization work, and while COVID-19 restrictions are in place, we will be developing community outreach activities through various online tours, webinars and other dynamic updates to the ICAR page on the museum’s website.