Paper Short Abstract:

My paper deals with different attempts at undoing the established representations of the Canadian settler state history and society as found in prominent museum spaces of the North American country. I study these decolonization endeavours with an eye to narratives, imagery and ownership questions.

Paper Abstract:

Museums play a crucial part in shaping our understanding of the past, of the political violence which made present-time social orders emerge, and of the lasting implications for the present. Post- and decolonial perspectives have exposed the inherent power dynamics and legitimizing functions of many established and hegemonial narratives as well as images within museum spaces, and pointed at their contentiousness: History museums often times reflect colonial biases and euphemistic representations of conquest and subjugation, perpetuating a skewed perspective that is part of legitimizing and power-maintaining structures. Consequently, debates and procedures have emerged regarding not only the repatriation of artefacts and human remains obtained through colonial violence, but also concerning the ways in which conquest and subjugation have been portrayed. Museums are therefore increasingly engaged in the reappraisal of their representations of, e.g. civil wars, national histories of domination, and the human rights violations that went along with or were strategically applied in colonization processes. Museums thus may facilitate processes of ‘unlearning’ conventional readings of the past and its impact on the present.

Against this background, my presentation studies decolonial strategies that are adopted by different museums in Canada where the official journey towards reconciliation started in 2015 when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published its final report, and leading politicians apologized and declared to undo settler colonial domination in the country. I will present how two prominent museums have taken up this challenge, namely the Museum of Vancouver and the National History Museum in Ottawa.