By Travis Poland
Overlooking the steadily flowing Ottawa River and perched on unceded Algonquin territory is the Canadian Museum of History. The museum is home to many exhibits that highlight Indigenous history. Education can help foster a relationship based on mutual understanding between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. The museum, although not apolitical, offers many opportunities to increase the understanding of its visitors. Exhibits such as the Grand Hall and the First Peoples Hall house artifacts and information regarding Indigenous peoples.
One is awestricken when entering the Grand Hall. Totem poles tower above visitors and although they are exhibited as art, the museum is not ignorant of the cultural significance of the poles. Plaques and posters describe each pole, including information on the pole’s place of origin, what the carvings represent and even the significance of the cedar tree.
Alongside the Grand Hall is another permanent exhibit titled “From Time Immemorial: Tsimshian Prehistory.” The exhibit demonstrates what life was like for Indigenous peoples of the West Coast before colonialism disrupted and attempted to destroy these ways of living. Cedar root hats and potlatch outfits are displayed beside pre-industrial tools and cutlery. There are historians working on site to explain how various tools and clothing were made and used. Modern items created using traditional methods also accompany the relics.
The First Peoples Hall is the highlight of this section. The exhibits here offer a snapshot, although not comprehensive, of Indigenous history across the country, from Inuit fishing methods to Treaty Rights and contemporary Indigenous issues. Conflicts between the government and Indigenous peoples are often highlighted by photos, videos and posters. These media representations depict important historical events from Louis Riel’s Rebellions, to the stand-offs at Kanehsatake and Ipperwash and the unjust imprisonment of Donald Marshall.
While the museum is not a one-stop-shop for a decolonized education on Indigenous issues, it does feature some interesting exhibits for those who wish to add another layer to their understanding of Indigenous issues. The recent controversy surrounding the rebranding of the former Museum of Civilization to the Museum of Canadian History has sparked fears that the museum will move in a more nationalist direction, disregarding the complexities of a land that does not only go by one name and does not only house one people. As of yet, it seems that the museum has not forgotten these complexities in their entirety. Hopefully this will remain the case.
This article first appeared in the Leveller Vol.8 No. 1 (September 2015).
