Symposium 2007 will provide an opportunity for Aboriginal people and conservation specialists to learn from one another — in an atmosphere of mutual respect — about traditional, technical, ethical, and intangible aspects of the conservation of Aboriginal material culture. It is being organized by the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI), with input and guidance from an Advisory Committee comprising members of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities across Canada. The Symposium will be held in Ottawa at Library and Archives Canada.

Themes of Symposium 2007

• Mutual Learning, Respect, and Ethics
• Aboriginal heritage and conservation needs in Canada
• links between the care and conservation of tangible objects and intangible aspects of culture
• ethics and conservation of Aboriginal heritage

• Working Together
• ways in which Aboriginal people and conservators can work together
• effective consultations and collaborative projects between Aboriginal people and museums
• respectful handling, storage, and exhibition of Aboriginal objects

• Technical and Traditional Approaches
• traditional fabrication techniques of Aboriginal objects in Canada
• care, conservation, and/or analysis of Aboriginal objects, archival records, archaeological artifacts, rock art, paintings, pesticide-contaminated objects, etc.

• Long-term Impact
• enhancing the capacity of Aboriginal communities and conservators to preserve Aboriginal material cultural heritage through diffusion of knowledge, including learning opportunities for Aboriginal youth
• facilities planning and upgrading, preventive conservation, and risk assessment of collections

• Pesticides - Session co-hosted by the ICOM-CC Working Group on Ethnographic Collections
• research in pesticide identification and removal from contaminated collections
• developments in the assessment of health risks
• methods or protocols for handling and use of contaminated objects

Participants

Symposium 2007 incorporates and welcomes multiple perspectives, including international viewpoints. Potential participants include:

• Aboriginal people involved in heritage
• staff and volunteers in Aboriginal community cultural centres
• Elders and Aboriginal community leaders
• community-based and institutional researchers
• academics and students
• museum and archival conservation specialists
• collection managers
• curators and museum directors

Symposium 2007 will be a unique opportunity to further understanding, respect, and collaboration between Aboriginal and museum communities in Canada, and enhance the capacity of both to preserve the rich and vibrant Aboriginal material culture.

For more information contact:

Client Services
Canadian Conservation Institute
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa ON K1A 0M5
CANADA
tel.: (613) 998-3721
e-mail: symposium_2007@pch.gc.ca

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