Categories
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice

Monthly Resources: September

 Sarah Wang

Regular resource collections from Sarah Wang, IBPOC Museum Professionals Network Coordinator.

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This Thursday 30 September 2021, Canadians will observe the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. According to the Government of Canada’s website, “The day honours the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process”.

At the centre of this painful history, both on and off record, is the residential school system that spanned for over 150 years, transcending Canada’s regime changes from colony to nationhood. Although the last residential school closed in 1998, the lasting impacts are still evident in Survivors and through intergenerational trauma. Even the most tangible efforts of reconciliation cannot immediately close the ruptures of linguistic, socioeconomic, and political inequities caused and reinforced by centuries of systemic oppression. This is especially poignant as those who were missing, unnamed, and stolen are found and continue to be searched for.

On this day, just like on all other days, it is important to amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples, past, present, and future, of these lands by respecting and learning about Indigenous knowledge and lived experiences. Let us not reduce reconciliation to performative virtue signalling and always remember that behind all true social progress is diligent personal accountability.


Do

Have you signed up for this year’s BCMA conference? Spread out over a month into four main themes, the conversations and connections will be robust. The only thing that’s missing is you! Bursaries are available to receive free registration!

grunt gallery: Trauma-Informed Critical Reflection Session for Artists and Cultural Workers

Tuesday 28 September 2021, 6PM-7:30PM PST
Presented by grunt gallery and led by Vo Vo, this participatory workshop “leads participants through questions and criteria for their current, or yet-to-exist work or event” with discussions on “long-term impact, sustainability, equity or reparations lens, social, gender and racial justice, accessibility aspects, social impact assessment, context, community need, site-specificity, proposed futures, possible futures, and alignment with the makers.”

Nanaimo Art Gallery: huli u’tu staluẃ / Riverbed

Sunday 3 October 2021, 2PM-3PM PST
huli u’tu staluẃ / Riverbed closes this weekend with a presentation by Sonnet L’AbbĂ© reflecting on this project honouring the lands and waterways of the Millstone River

American Folk Art Museum: Entangled Images | Perspectives on Indigenous Representation

Thursday 14 October 2021, 3PM-4:30PM PST
Join scholars Joseph Zordan, Joe Baker, Rachel Allen, and Ramey Mize in a conversation on Indigenous imagery and representation in American material culture.

The Vancouver Writers Festival

Monday 18 October 2021-Sunday 24 October 2021
The Vancouver Writers Festival returns with digital and in-person events. Of particular note to the museum sector are the events:

Royal BC Museum: Hope Meets Action: Echoes Through the Black Continuum

Saturday 14 August 2021- Tuesday 1 March 2021
In partnership with the BC Black History Awareness Society, this exhibit “daylights the living and ongoing history of Black belonging, told in this manner by the Black community for the first time” with audio recordings and visual art of past and present Black artists and pioneers of BC.