The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography
In 1921, the Canadian government confiscated over 400 pieces of Kwakwaka’wakw potlatch regalia and placed it in three large museums. In 1967 the Kwakwaka'wakw initiated a long process of repatriation resulting in the majority of the collection returning to two Kwakwaka’wakw cultural centres ove...
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ftunivtoronto:oai:localhost:1807/42997 2023-05-15T16:16:22+02:00 The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography Knight, Emma Louise Krmpotich, Cara Mortensen, Lena Jonaitis, Aldona Museum Studies NO_RESTRICTION http://hdl.handle.net/1807/42997 en_ca eng http://hdl.handle.net/1807/42997 Object Biography Museum Collections Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations repatriation potlatch collection objecthood subjecthood institutional forgetting cultural centres 0730 0740 0326 0377 Thesis ftunivtoronto 2020-06-17T11:25:36Z In 1921, the Canadian government confiscated over 400 pieces of Kwakwaka’wakw potlatch regalia and placed it in three large museums. In 1967 the Kwakwaka'wakw initiated a long process of repatriation resulting in the majority of the collection returning to two Kwakwaka’wakw cultural centres over the last four decades. Through the theoretical framework of object biography and using the museum register as a tool to reconstruct the lives of the potlatch regalia, this thesis explores the multiple paths, diversions and oscillations between objecthood and subjecthood that the collection has undergone. This thesis constructs an exhibition history for the regalia, examines processes of institutional forgetting, and adds multiple layers of meaning to the collection's biography by attending to the post-repatriation life of the objects. By revisiting this pivotal Canadian case, diversions are emphasized as important moments in the creation of subjecthood and objecthood for museum objects. MAST Thesis First Nations University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space |
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collection |
University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space |
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ftunivtoronto |
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English |
topic |
Object Biography Museum Collections Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations repatriation potlatch collection objecthood subjecthood institutional forgetting cultural centres 0730 0740 0326 0377 |
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Object Biography Museum Collections Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations repatriation potlatch collection objecthood subjecthood institutional forgetting cultural centres 0730 0740 0326 0377 Knight, Emma Louise The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography |
topic_facet |
Object Biography Museum Collections Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations repatriation potlatch collection objecthood subjecthood institutional forgetting cultural centres 0730 0740 0326 0377 |
description |
In 1921, the Canadian government confiscated over 400 pieces of Kwakwaka’wakw potlatch regalia and placed it in three large museums. In 1967 the Kwakwaka'wakw initiated a long process of repatriation resulting in the majority of the collection returning to two Kwakwaka’wakw cultural centres over the last four decades. Through the theoretical framework of object biography and using the museum register as a tool to reconstruct the lives of the potlatch regalia, this thesis explores the multiple paths, diversions and oscillations between objecthood and subjecthood that the collection has undergone. This thesis constructs an exhibition history for the regalia, examines processes of institutional forgetting, and adds multiple layers of meaning to the collection's biography by attending to the post-repatriation life of the objects. By revisiting this pivotal Canadian case, diversions are emphasized as important moments in the creation of subjecthood and objecthood for museum objects. MAST |
author2 |
Krmpotich, Cara Mortensen, Lena Jonaitis, Aldona Museum Studies |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Knight, Emma Louise |
author_facet |
Knight, Emma Louise |
author_sort |
Knight, Emma Louise |
title |
The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography |
title_short |
The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography |
title_full |
The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography |
title_fullStr |
The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch Collection and its Many Social Contexts: Constructing a Collection’s Object Biography |
title_sort |
kwakwaka’wakw potlatch collection and its many social contexts: constructing a collection’s object biography |
publishDate |
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url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1807/42997 |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/1807/42997 |
_version_ |
1766002218570350592 |