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Paper short abstract:

Crucial aspects of skilled performances are often obscured by visual modes of observation. Drawing on field recordings with Algonquin First Nations in Canada this presentation explores the multiple meanings of sound that emerge while tracking the kinaesthetic skills of Indigenous canoe builders.

Paper long abstract:

Working through a combination of diverse media in multimodal ethnography opens new possibilities for learning to recognize important differences in ways of sensing across cultures. In the study of craft and the handmade, sound offers an exciting glimpse into the extra-linguistic dialogue between the maker and their materials.

In this panel presentation I draw on field recordings with Algonquin First Nations in Canada to explore the multiple meanings of sound that emerge while tracking the kinaesthetic skills of Indigenous canoe builders. Unless entering the realm of dreams or imagination, what meets the eye stops at the surface, whereas the resonant properties of sound have the capacity to draw the mind deep within the materials into areas that are invisible. My research uncovers how the Algonquin have developed their auditory attention to use the acoustics generated by their ecological activity as a refined tactile guidance system. These sensory attunements give rise to a way of being in the world that encourages multiple forms of listening where the natural sounds of trees are fully canvased for ‘speaking’ about the teachings of ancestral knowledge.

As ethnographers it is important to question our own sensory constitution so as not to succumb to the limitations of occularcentrism. Since the senses are culturally and historically constructed as much as they are biologically and physiologically determined, working through a combination of diverse media uncovers crucial aspects of skilled performances that defy declarative language and are obscured by visual modes of observation.