Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project
The Roots 2 Share project, a collaboration between two Dutch and two Greenlandic museums, was established to share museum collections and photographs housed in the Netherlands with the Tunumiit people of East Greenland. The Tunumiit regard the collections in the Netherlands as belonging to their cul...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:43883006161e4aa686892898f06df91e 2023-07-16T03:58:11+02:00 Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project Cunera Buijs 2016-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.366 https://doaj.org/article/43883006161e4aa686892898f06df91e EN eng Island Studies Journal https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.366 https://doaj.org/toc/1715-2593 doi:10.24043/isj.366 1715-2593 https://doaj.org/article/43883006161e4aa686892898f06df91e Island Studies Journal, Vol 11, Iss 2 (2016) Physical geography GB3-5030 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.366 2023-06-25T00:34:53Z The Roots 2 Share project, a collaboration between two Dutch and two Greenlandic museums, was established to share museum collections and photographs housed in the Netherlands with the Tunumiit people of East Greenland. The Tunumiit regard the collections in the Netherlands as belonging to their cultural heritage, yet the Dutch maintain authority over the collections, leading to imbalanced power relations. This unequal relationship has its basis in museums’ colonial pasts and hinders the sharing and exchange of cultural heritage. As an island, Greenland is often regarded as the periphery in contrast to mainland centres of Denmark. Physical and cultural distance, as well as a power imbalance, prevent the Tunumiit of East Greenland from reconnecting with museum collections containing their own indigenous cultural heritage. The Roots 2 Share project was set up using the internet to overcome this distance, exploring new possibilities and techniques for providing access and giving indigenous communities a voice. New means of open communication, sharing authority, cooperation and exchange, and providing space for alternative stories may facilitate a decolonization of museum collections in island communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper East Greenland Greenland greenlandic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Island Studies Journal 11 2 537 560 |
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English |
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Physical geography GB3-5030 |
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Physical geography GB3-5030 Cunera Buijs Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project |
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Physical geography GB3-5030 |
description |
The Roots 2 Share project, a collaboration between two Dutch and two Greenlandic museums, was established to share museum collections and photographs housed in the Netherlands with the Tunumiit people of East Greenland. The Tunumiit regard the collections in the Netherlands as belonging to their cultural heritage, yet the Dutch maintain authority over the collections, leading to imbalanced power relations. This unequal relationship has its basis in museums’ colonial pasts and hinders the sharing and exchange of cultural heritage. As an island, Greenland is often regarded as the periphery in contrast to mainland centres of Denmark. Physical and cultural distance, as well as a power imbalance, prevent the Tunumiit of East Greenland from reconnecting with museum collections containing their own indigenous cultural heritage. The Roots 2 Share project was set up using the internet to overcome this distance, exploring new possibilities and techniques for providing access and giving indigenous communities a voice. New means of open communication, sharing authority, cooperation and exchange, and providing space for alternative stories may facilitate a decolonization of museum collections in island communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cunera Buijs |
author_facet |
Cunera Buijs |
author_sort |
Cunera Buijs |
title |
Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project |
title_short |
Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project |
title_full |
Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project |
title_fullStr |
Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project |
title_full_unstemmed |
Museum Collection Decolonization and Indigenous Cultural Heritage in an Island Community: East Greenland and the ‘Roots 2 Share’ Photo Project |
title_sort |
museum collection decolonization and indigenous cultural heritage in an island community: east greenland and the ‘roots 2 share’ photo project |
publisher |
Island Studies Journal |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.366 https://doaj.org/article/43883006161e4aa686892898f06df91e |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
East Greenland Greenland greenlandic |
genre_facet |
East Greenland Greenland greenlandic |
op_source |
Island Studies Journal, Vol 11, Iss 2 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.366 https://doaj.org/toc/1715-2593 doi:10.24043/isj.366 1715-2593 https://doaj.org/article/43883006161e4aa686892898f06df91e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.366 |
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Island Studies Journal |
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11 |
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2 |
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537 |
op_container_end_page |
560 |
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1771545198836318208 |