A Quick Overview...

My plan is that each of these posts becomes a bit of a stand alone thread or topics area...this also forces me to think and write about my research, and gather all of the random work I've been doing together in one spot!

Also I should say for now my footnotes need a bit of work but I want to get these posts out there - each is a section of my PhD proposal as it currently stands (hence the formatting issues with the footnotes)

Some of my posts will be academic, some will be more relaxed, some may be art, some may be reports from the field - who knows what I will come across in this journey but I hope it will be helpful and inspiring to others along the way. And please if you come across anything you think is wrong or you have heard differently, or you just disagree with do reach out to me - my work is really just a reflection of the brilliance pf our communities and everyone who continues to pick up the pieces of knowledge that have been scattered by colonialism.

Here is a bit of an overview of my whole research project!

The Haudenosaunee (Six Nations/Iroquois) cultural protocols and practices of Tsi Teyótte Karhá:kon (“Edge of the Woods”) and Condolence have long been utilized to create physical and philosophical spaces for those visiting our community or building relationships with us. We address grievances, grapple with loss, and condole visitors by meeting them at the edge of our territory, and by metaphorically clearing their eyes so they can see, cleaning their ears so they can hear, and giving them a drink of water so they can speak.

For Indigenous people who are grieving from the impacts of colonialism on our sense of self and identity, these practices can also provide a philosophical framework to approach museums and museology, countering the historical role of museums as tools of colonization and dispossession. By metaphorically condoling with museum professionals and visitors, and by encouraging the use of Haudenosaunee cultural protocols, we can consciously and subconsciously create spaces for engaging with each other that follow a “Good Mind” protocol reflective of the Edge of the Woods and Condolence teachings.

Drawing on these teachings as both theoretical and methodological approaches, my graduate research examines how Haudenosaunee individuals and institutions strategically brokered cross-cultural and inter-cultural dialogues during the twentieth century, from the 1950s to the 1990s. My dissertation identifies historical challenges, centered in colonial-settler ideologies and practices, that tended to marginalize Haudenosaunee values, cultural practices, and knowledge systems. My work contributes to efforts in reconciliation by foregrounding culturally based solutions to better engage with Indigenous communities in cultural preservation and museum work, in Canada and internationally.

Although many historians have examined the museological replication of colonial narratives and structures, and scholars have argued that the Haudenosaunee are among the most intensively studied Indigenous nations, little research has been conducted to connect Haudenosaunee worldviews (and critiques) with public presentations of the Haudenosaunee. My research asks, what is the history of Haudenosaunee museology in the twenty-first century? How do Indigenous practices – specifically the Edge of the Woods and Condolence teachings as shared in the Great Law of Peace – reflect culturally-specific strategies of engagement? Can these teachings help us develop a more holistic, healing approach to museum practices to better address colonial trauma?

My research examines ten Indigenous cultural centers (see my "On Location at the Edge of the Woods" post for more info) situated at the physical edges of Haudenosaunee communities. These centers are often the first point of contact with community and culture for outside visitors, and for Haudenosaunee people returning to their communities. Located in traditional Haudenosaunee territory along the Canada-US border (in Ontario, Quebec and New York State), these institutions serve as places to engage in relationship-building, which I argue is a form of Condolence.

The first step in my research began by locating archival documentation related to each of these sites, this work is ongoing and has been greatly impacted by COVID-19.

The next step involves witnessing the activities of these cultural institutions, and gathering the personal histories and stories of those who work at or have worked at these organizations.