What a museum on residential schools could do for us

OTTAWA—The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., is a stand-out in museum content and museology—the science and art of education through exhibit. The building is breathtaking, the content is state-of-the-art storytelling, the exhibits on African American culture are inspiring. The history of slavery and racism in the United States is told through exhibits with candour—factual, clear, and straight up. African American history is told with an eye to the truth, the need to ensure that the country understands its past. From the child-sized handcuffs of slavery, to the various techniques to kill slaves, it’s all there. And one can’t help but feel the pride of Black American tourists walking through it, both in the history and the culture exhibits. That’s the mark of museology done well. We don’t have anything like this museum in Canada for Indigenous history and culture. Yes, there are cultural and art exhibits in parts of some museums, but we don’t have our own museum on the history. The Great Canadian Lie continues to smother the truth. The Great Canadian Lie says, “but we meant well” when confronted with the truth of the abuses in residential schools, and so stalls the education. The Great Canadian Lie says, “but there were good people there” when confronted with the facts of deaths of children at these institutions, so stalls the truth. That’s why we don’t have a museum yet. There’s too many who don’t want the story told like this. Somebody would demand that the story be told “nicer." Be gentle with settlers because the feelings of non-Indigenous People are more important than telling the truth. There’s also a quiet narrative that Indigenous Peoples might not be ready to view such exhibits. I think we undervalue the strength of Indigenous Peoples when we assume a lack of readiness. I wonder if this is the line used by people pushing the Great Canadian Lie? What if we told the story of Indigenous history and culture in this country like this: no back story, only front story about the terrible history of Canada against Indigenous Peoples, and the resilience to overcome it all? Followed by some amazing Indigenous art and culture to round it all out? It might feel to Indigenous kids that they belong in Ottawa, in Ontario, in this country. It might feel to Canadians that Indigenous Peoples belong. What if we had a museum that dismantled a residential school and rebuilt it as an exhibit, right in the middle of Ottawa? It would have to be in view of Parliament because this is how a country shows it understands the importance of its past crimes. Don’t hide it away. What if the museum told the truth about the white supremacy of government leaders that stood idly by while children died? I wonder whether residential school denialism would have less chance if we had a museum that laid out in exhibits the evil intentions of it all—the abuse, the deaths, and the long-term impacts not only on Indigenous Peoples, but on all of us? But a museum on Indigenous history and culture can’t stop there—it must be balanced with the art of Indigenous Peoples as well, because art is healing. Because Indigenous Peoples are not solely about the past and the pain, we are here and now. We are not only history. Canada needs a museum that tells the Indigenous history no-holds-barred, and shares the Indigenous art and culture with pride. An excellent museum that creates such a buzz that everybody wants to see it. An excellent educational experience that school classes go to see. A must-see national museum with rotating exhibits of Indigenous artists from coast to coast to coast. A museum with the commemorative intent of strengthening this country for us all. Rose LeMay is Tlingit from the West Coast and the CEO of the Indigenous Reconciliation Group. She writes twice a month about Indigenous inclusion and reconciliation. In Tlingit worldview, the stories are the knowledge system, sometimes told through myth and sometimes contradicting the myths told by others. But always with at least some truth. The Hill Times

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What a museum on residential schools could do for us

Canada needs a museum that tells the Indigenous history no-holds-barred, and shares the Indigenous art and culture with pride.

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