Cree museum wins Governor General's History Award
Footprints exhibition traces walking traditions of Quebec Cree
A travelling exhibition celebrating the role of James Bay Cree walking traditions in Quebec won a 2018 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Museums.
Footprints: A Walk Through Generations is a multimedia exhibition developed by the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute (ACCI) in Oujé-Bougoumou. It was entirely curated by Cree.
"We are so excited about it," said Sarah Pash, chief executive officer of ACCI. She said the exhibit is a good example of the centre's priorities — Indigenous driven research, language and culture preservation.
The Governor General's History Awards were first established in 1996 to recognize excellence in teaching.
The awards have since expanded to recognize other ways history is taught, including museums, community programming, scholarly research and media, according to a release by the Governor General's office. In total, 18 were given out for the 2018 History Awards. The exhibition contains about 150 artifacts that are linked to the many facets of walking in Cree culture.
It has everyday objects, such as snowshoes and moccasins, and ceremonial objects, like the intricately decorated outfits made for Eeyou children's rites of passage milestones. For example, it has artifacts from a walking out ceremony, which marks a young Cree child's first encounter with nature. Footprints also includes archival photographs, audio and video elements.
The exhibition was unveiled in 2017 and has since travelled to each Cree community.
Cross-country tour
Pash said winning is a recognition that ACCI is doing high quality research. "[Footprints] shares our culture from our own perspective."
She said this award "helps promote our culture beyond our nation and the importance of our culture," said Pash. She added that ACCI is a non-profit organization and relies on the ability to attract government funding and private donors.
"What we have as a nation is a really wonderful tool," said Pash. "To help us do our own research and decide for ourselves what's important in terms of the path we take for cultural maintenance and what we share with the outside world."
The exhibition begins a cross-Canada tour in May 2019 with a 10 month visit to the Canadian Museum of History, in Gatineau, Que.
The Governor General's History Award for Excellence will be handed out during a ceremony at Rideau Hall on January 28.
