scholarly journals Things that time forgot Native American objects in Danish Museums Problems and possibilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-76
Author(s):  
Laura Ahlqvist ◽  
Mathias Bjørnevad ◽  
Felix Riede ◽  
Magdalena Naum

We present a hitherto unresearched part of a shared Danish and American cultural heritage: Native American objects in Danish regional museum collections. Thus far, we have identified more than 200 Native American artefacts in 27 local museums, largely a result of Danes abroad privately collecting in the late 1800s and 1950s–70s. The majority of these artefacts, many of which are prehistoric in age, have never been displayed and have lingered in storage since they were accessioned, understudied and often unrecognised for what they are. Recent deaccessioning pressures from the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces potentially place these objects at risk of destruction, making the discussions presented here a timely issue. These Native American objects, like the unknown numbers of other non-Danish artefacts held by regional museums, hold tremendous potential to elucidate overlooked parts of Danish museum history, trans-Atlantic networks and interconnectedness in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as rich material cultures originating far from Denmark. We argue that this perspective is highly relevant and should be utilised in Danish museums, as it begets reflections on Danish glocal identity and society in a post-colonial world.

Author(s):  
Yulia S. Chechikova

Digitization of a national cultural and scientific heritage is one of the long-term strategic problems of the European countries’ governments. Member countries of the European Union make major efforts in providing access to their cultural heritage. In the article the process of an access provision is described for Finland.


Author(s):  
Mèhèza Kalibani

Abstract Since the publication of the “restitution report” by Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy in November 2018, the debate around the restitution of African artifacts inherited from German colonialism in German museums has become increasingly intense. While the restitution debate in Germany is generally focused on “material cultural heritage” and human remains, this reflection attempts to contextualize the “immaterial heritage” (museum collections inventory data, photographs, movies, sound recordings, and digital archive documents) from German colonialism and plead for its consideration in this debate. It claims that the first step of restitution consists of German ethnological museums being transparent about their possessions of artifacts from colonial contexts, which means providing all available information about museum collections from colonial contexts and making them easily accessible to the people from the former German colonies.


MANUSYA ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-102
Author(s):  
Weeraphan Shinawatra

This paper is an attempt to explain problems of cultural heritage conservation and management in Thailand due to the neglect of the State and the weakness of the society in understanding and protecting their cultural heritage especially the “folk culture” against globalization. The paper also points out that the impending Thailand Charter for cultural heritage conservation and management is the key solution to counterbalance today’s threats. Non-government organizations should take the lead in drafting the Charter with full public participation. Meanwhile local cultural heritage organizations which are at risk should immediately respond, with all stakeholders involved, before it is too late.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
Victor Marchezini ◽  
Allan Yu Iwama ◽  
Danilo Celso Pereira ◽  
Rodrigo Silva da Conceição ◽  
Rachel Trajber ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study an articulated warning system that provides information about the heritage at risk and encourages a dialogue between the heritage sector, civil defense agencies and local communities. Design/methodology/approach The databases from the National Heritage Institute, National Civil Defense, National Geological Service and National Early Warning System were investigated and the local community provided input which helped form a participatory risk mapping strategy for a warning system in the heritage sector. Findings There is little knowledge of the Brazilian heritage that is at risk and a lack of coordination between the cultural heritage and DRR sectors. This means that there is a need to organize the geo-referenced databases so that information can be shared and the public provided with broader access. As a result, there can be a greater production, dissemination and application of knowledge to help protect the cultural heritage. Practical implications The findings can be included in the debate about the importance of framing disaster risk management (DRM) policies in the Brazilian heritage sector. Social implications The findings and maps of the case study in the town of São Luiz do Paraitinga involve the heritage sector, civil defense agencies and local people and can be used for disaster risk preparedness. Originality/value A DRM program is being formulated in Brazil. However, the kind of strategy needed to incorporate the heritage sector in this program stills needs to be planned, and the knowledge of the cultural heritage at risk is a key factor when faced with this new social and scientific challenge.


1994 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara M. Cooper

This essay argues that female participation in agriculture and limited seclusion in Maradi (Niger) today do not stem from the absence of agricultural slavery in the pre-colonial period but rather result from the resistance of the Katsinawa élite to the Islamic reforms of the Sokoto Caliphate and from the absence of rimji (plantation) slavery in the region. The abolition of slavery did not mark a watershed in the rise of seclusion, as M. G. Smith argues was the case in Nigeria, but rather triggered a series of reformulations of marriage and female hierarchy. Semi-legitimate and legitimate polygynous marriages permitted men and women of the wealthier classes to retain the labor of former female slaves as ‘concubines’ and later enabled them to use junior wives to perform the duties once carried out by slaves. Women countered the ambiguities of such marriages by asserting their worth through wedding ritual and later by adopting the veiling of élite women. As economic and cultural ties with northern Nigeria grew during the colonial and post-colonial periods, and as goods and services reduced some of the labor demands upon urban women, seclusion gained in popularity. By acquiescing to the dependency implicit in purdah women could protect themselves from the labor demands of others and could sometimes free themselves up to earn independent incomes of their own. Thus the recent adoption of seclusion in Maradi has not arisen out of a unilateral decision on the part of newly freed women to adopt seclusion as a sign of status, as Smith claimed for Northern Nigeria, but resulted instead from of a series of redefinitions, contestations and negotiations of marriage in which both men and women have been active.


Author(s):  
Joan Burbick

Joan Burbick reads Jay Harjo from a queering as well as post-colonial perspective, analyzing the way in which normative discourses of social cohesion are questioned and re-formulated from the vantage point of Native American categories such as the berdache. Harjo's vision promotes radical contingency and a seemingly spiritual notion of transference.


Author(s):  
Samuel Chabikwa ◽  
Nathan Mnjama ◽  
Maitseo MM Bolaane

This paper is premised on the observation that mainstream archival activities are the main cause and source of the “absences and silences” of the voices of the minority and the underrepresented in the archives. The aim of the study is to explain the context and documentation strategies of archiving and preservation of Historical Manuscripts (HM) of the white community in post-colonial Zimbabwe. In particular, the study seeks to: (a) Determine the legislative, regulatory framework for the management of HM in selected cultural heritage institutions in Zimbabwe; (b) Assess the acquisition policies and practices of mainstream cultural heritage institutions in Zimbabwe; (c) Describe the usage, purposes, and accessibility of both pre-archival and archival HM of the white community. The findings of the study revealed adequate provisions in the National Archives of Zimbabwe Act (2001) for the archiving of HM of the white community in Zimbabwe, although there were limitations of outdated policies for the institutions studied. The study also addressed the issue of limited funding and shrinking budgets which impeded on the operations of both selected cultural heritage institutions and white community associations. This resulted in failure to adhere to archiving/records management standards, and the upgrading of equipment and facilities, as well as the recruitment and retention of requisite and qualified staff. Overall, this endangers the HM collections to neglect and decay. HM were migrated from Zimbabwe to other countries regionally and abroad into private hands, and their extent, nature, condition of storage and status of preservation are undetermined.


This chapter reviews the historic and ongoing research of the state of Maine's intangible cultural heritage and shows how this work addresses the need for conservation, advocacy, education, and stewardship of this heritage. Maine is especially rich in intangible cultural heritage including the knowledge involved in crafting fine Native American basketry, boat building, fiddle music and dance, knowledge of the natural world among fishermen, woodsmen, millworkers, and farmers, folk singing, storytelling and much more. Cultural rights and ownership, the role of community scholars, and the impact of tourism is considered. The chapter concludes by suggesting that culturally-sensitive and engaged research has strengthened our understanding of how the ecosystem is essential to human life and culture.


Author(s):  
Charles R. Cobb

This chapter provides an overview of landscape studies in archaeology, particularly as practiced in the southeastern United States. There is an extended discussion justifying historical anthropology as an important point of departure for this study, in particular because of its usefulness for exploring processes of colonialism. The chapter provides summaries of the major Native American groups and European powers that appear in the remainder of the volume. Generally speaking, the three major European players, or the Spanish, English, and French had different goals and methods of colonization. These methods cumulatively spurred a highly ramified history of landscape transformations for Native Americans. The chapter’s approach resonates well with post-colonial approaches that attempt to decolonize the past by removing Europeans as the primary lens by which we view the actions of Indigenous peoples. Working under rubrics such as “Native-lived colonialism” and “decolonizing the past,” archaeologists increasingly are seeking to integrate European texts, the archaeological record, oral histories, and the perspectives of Native peoples to try and achieve a plural perspective on past lifeways.


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