by Margaret Orr In the months of January, February, and March 2020, I embarked on a journey to Ouje-Bougoumou, Mistissini, Eastmain, Chisasibi, and Whapmagoostui in Eeyou Istchee (Quebec). My journey was to facilitate workshops that focused on the designs painted on caribou hide coats and other items of clothing and other belongings. Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute (ACCI) …
This past summer I worked as an archives intern at Aanischaaukamikw. My main tasks were to research existing archives in institutions and organisations in Gatineau, Ottawa and Montreal, to gather digital copies of the material for researchers to use when they visit Aanischaaukamikw. I was included in some of the other activities that Aanischaaukamikw had …
This blog post is based on text from a poster that we submitted to the Museum Ethnographers Group (UK) conference in April 2018. Beyond Inclusion – Decolonising through Self-Representation in Eeyou Istchee Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute [ACCI] opened in 2011, after decades of planning by Eeyou Elders and community members. Located in Ouje-Bougoumou, ACCI is …
One of the most exciting things that happened with our museum collection in the last few months was the amazing reunification of an object with the family of the maker. In May 2015, ACCI hosted a Curatorial workshop lead by Moira McCaffrey, and one of the attendees was Linda Stewart Georgekish from Wemindji. At this …
ACCI Collection Officer, Paula Menarick @ Otsego! It was a privilege to attendthe 2015 Otsego Institute for Native North American Art History summer seminars in Cooperstown, New York. We focused on connoisseurship of materials and the theorization of materiality. What is the Otsego Institute? “The Otsego Institute for Native American Art History was founded …
The walking out ceremony is a Cree tradition that has been done for children for hundreds of years. When a child was born, they were not allowed to touch the ground until they went through this ceremony. The parents took great care of keeping them off the ground. The ceremony can be done for a …
The first loan to Aanischaaukamikw from Europe was an 18th century Cree moccasin from the city of Zurich, Switzerland’s Nordamerika Native Museum. It was particularly important for the opening phase of our exhibition because it features fine porcupine quill work, a technique of decoration long ago replaced by beadwork and embroidery in this region. It …