Chapter 6 Activity

Visit an Indigenous cultural centre or museum and look at the exhibits through a lense of reconciliation. By reconciliation, we mean “a process of healing of relationships that require public truth sharing, apology, and commemoration that acknowledge and redress past harms” (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2016:160). How can museums be agents of colonialism? While visiting a cultural centre or museum, think about the following questions:

1. Was your experience of this museum/cultural centre/interpretive centre positive or negative? Explain…
2. Were you looking forward to this visit?
3. What were you expecting to learn from your experience?
4. What do you remember best from your experience?
5. Was there anything about your visit that made you remember it better?
6. Who do you think the museum/cultural centre audience is?
7. True or false, I felt I learned some new information.
8. True or false, I have developed an increased interest in something I knew little about before coming here.
9. True or false, I have gained knowledge that I can use in my work as a result of my visit.
10. True or false, I understand better the community this museum/cultural centre is focused on.
11. True or false, I could make sense of most of the things I saw and did at the museum/cultural centre.
12. Were you looking for anything in particular? Explain.
13. True or false, I’m able to talk about something I have learned here with others.
14. True or false, I learned something that made me change my mind about something. If so explain…
15. My favourite exhibit was…
16. My least favourite exhibit was…
17. If the museum/cultural centre focused on Indigenous peoples, did it provide evidence of working towards reconciliation?