by Jonathan Lainey
The McCord Museum in Montreal recently launched its new permanent exhibition title “Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience”.
The hundreds of objects that are on display are combined with powerful inspiring stories from members of the 11 Indigenous nations of Quebec, shedding light on their knowledge and philosophies. They speak out about their suffering as well as their dreams and plans for a better future to help restore their health, which has been undermined by colonization.
The objects on display include a wampum belt, pipe, bandolier bag, roach, cradle-board, trade silver, jewels, drums, tools and an extremely rare original copy of the Royal Proclamation of 1763. They were carefully selected from the Museum’s Indigenous collection by the Innu Jean St-Onge, of the Maison de la transmission de la culture innue Shaputuan, in Uashat (Qc), using an approach inspired by Indigenous ways of understanding the world through observation and allowing the objects to speak to him.
This exhibition was curated by Élisabeth Kaine, Huron-wendat, and Co-Holder of the UNESCO Chair at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (Qc), titled “The Transmission of First Peoples’ Culture to Foster Well-Being and Empowerment”
The McCord Museum offers free admission to Indigenous Peoples – Inuit, Métis and First Nations.