Respect, deliberation required

Page 4

Editorial

The initial victory by the Mohawk Indians of Quebec to have the broken-nosed false face mask removed from the Spirit Sings exhibition at the Glenbow museum sets the stage for other bands to reclaim their religious artefacts.

The display of everyday Native artefacts is permissible, because they educate the masses as to the culture and ingenuity of our people but religious objects are another story. Many of these pieces were created only to e seen or handled by powerful medicine men who've earned the right to do so. They should not be thought of as trinkets or trifles hung on the wall for anyone to view. These objects, which hold deep spiritual significance, must be treated with respect.

Speaking of respect, it is true that some museum curators are not oblivious to the spiritual significance of spiritual artefacts. The curator at Edmonton's Provincial Museum has participated in ceremonies which enable her to work with certain Native artefacts, and she smudges some articles before placing them in a display.

But, the ruling in the Mohawk mask case sends a clear message to museums that Aboriginal advisors must be consulted regarding the proper treatment of religious artifacts. As it turns out, the Mohawks had no idea the false mask was to appear in the Spirit Sings exhibit, and found out about it only when they viewed the show's official catalogue.

Just as the shroud placed over Jesus when he was placed in the tomb would not be put on display without great deliberation by museum curators as to how or if it should be displayed, so should the same respect and deliberations by authorities be given to medicine bundles and sacred headdresses and robes.

A tribe in the United States, when attempting to regain the bones of their ancestors from the Smithsonian Institute, may have put it best, regarding this matter of respect, when they said: "We don't go into graveyards and steal the bones of your people, so don't keep the skeletons of our relatives in your display cases."