Repatriation of Traditional Knowledge One Story at a Time
Sven Haakanson Jr.
For the past decade the Alutiiq Museum has been involved in innovative and collaborative work to repatriate traditional knowledge from collections scattered across the world and locally. Through exchanges, exhibitions and collaboration on catalogues they have built relations that go beyond what is expected of a museums role within a community. In 2008 they worked with the Chateau Musée in Boulongne-sur-Mer, France to bring an international and collaborative exhibition to Kodiak, Alaska to share traditional masks collected from their region in 1872. From 2006-2011 they supported the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography on creating a catalogue on Alutiiq material culture collected between 1784-1909 and took five grass basket weavers in 2010 to see their collections. How are they doing this and why? Repatriation of knowledge and building mutual trust between institutions is important. They have reversed the flow of knowledge so that it is owned by the community and not just the collectors or museums. The result from this work has helped to reestablish traditional knowledge within the community once again. They are building a foundation of exchanges that are going beyond one generation but into the next as they weave ties of cultural knowledge across the world.
Workshops
One-day workshop
Instructors: Luisa Jiménez, weaver from Laguna Chicahuaxtla, Triqui group, Moisés Martínez, weaver from San Pedro Cajonos, Zapotec group – Northern mountains, Abigail Mendoza, weaver from Santo Tomás Jalieza, Zapotec group – Central Valleys
Demonstration and elaboration of back-strap loom weavings with different techniques employed in the state of Oaxaca.
One-day workshop
Instructors: Fausto Contreras and Mariano Sosa, weavers and dyers from Teotitlán del Valle, Zapotec group – Central Valleys
Wool dyeing with cochineal, indigo and wild marigold following the ongoing tradition from the community of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.
Two-day workshop
Instructors: Arturo León, Sculptor and Professor – Conservation Program, National School of Conservation, Restoration, and Museography “Manuel del Castillo Negrete” (ENCRyM), Lilia Ramírez, M.A. and Professor – Conservation Program, ENCRyM, Lorena Román, Conservator and Professor – Conservation Program, ENCRyM
Demonstration and elaboration of a feather mosaic according to the technique found in a 16th c. mosaic that belongs to the collections of the National Viceroyalty Museum, INAH.
One-day workshop
Instructor: Alejandro de Ávila, Director of the Oaxaca Ethnobotanical Garden and Curator of the Textile Museum of Oaxaca
Presentation of a basic overview of ongoing changes in the biological taxonomy of species of interest to textile conservators. Examination of live specimens of several of such species at the Oaxaca Ethnobotanical Garden. Focus on plant fibers and dyes, including vegetal adhesives and soaps used traditionally in textile processes.
One-day workshop
Instructor: Richard Wolbers, Associate Professor – Art Conservation Program, University of Delaware/Winterthur Museum
Part I will cover general principles of wet-cleaning. Participants will need an understanding of basic chemical principles to gain the maximum benefit from the material presented.
One-day workshop
Instructor: Richard Wolbers, Associate Professor – Art Conservation Program, University of Delaware/Winterthur Museum
Part II will cover more advanced topics in aqueous cleaning such as bleaching, enzymes, poultices and "spotting". Participants who have taken Richard Wolber's workshops at previous NATCC conferences can sign up for the 2nd day only if they wish. Participants will need an understanding of basic chemical principles to gain the maximum benefit from the material presented.
The Role of Universities in the Rescue of Cultural Heritage / Gonzalo J. Alarcón Vital
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Conservation Challenge: Ottoman Carpets in Transylvanian Churches / Anna Beselin
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Stitches in Time: The Integration of 18th and 21st Century Technologies and Techniques across Three Cultures / Nancy Britton
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Building a Museum Conservation Community in Iraq / Vicki Cassman / Jessica Johnson / Nancy Odegaard
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Conservation as a Process of Representation: The Kurdish Textile Museum of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan / Anne-Marie Deisser / Lolan Sipan / Róisín Miles
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Twenty Years of Conservation Collaborations with Native Peoples at the National Museum of the American Indian / Susan Heald
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Retrieval of Forgotten Textile Techniques: A Ukrainian Community’s Focus that Enriches Communities Beyond / Teena Jennings-Rentenaar, Aniza Kraus
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Textile Conservation at the Lyceum Club of Greek Women: So We Think We Can Dance / Tatiana Kousoulou, Zoi Kona
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Engaging with the Public Realm: Conserving Textiles as a Public Spectacle at the People’s History Museum, Manchester, UK / Vivian Lochhead
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Collaboration between Textile Conservators and Archaeologists: Four Case Studies of Textiles from Pyre Burials from Ancient Greece / Christina Margariti
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Soaring Up: Feathered Textiles in Contemporary Mexico / Hector Manuel Meneses Lozano
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Dyes and Dye-stuffs in Textile Conservation / Rosa Lorena Román Torres, Lilia Félix León, Arturo León Candanedo, Abner Gutiérrez Ramos, Nicolás Gutiérrez Zepeda, Alejandra Corona Cadena, Lilian García-Alonso Alba, Javier Vázquez Negrete
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Life’s Rich Tapestry / Deb Spoehr
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Weaving Experiences with the Textile Heritage and the Memory / Olga Liliana Sulca
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Producing, Weaving, and Felting Turcana Wool in the Apuseni Mountains, Romania / Florica Zaharia, Ana Teodora Zaharia
Cushmas: Amazonian Ethnographic Costumes. Their Preventive Conservation and Appreciation / Rosemary Zenker Alzamora
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A Simple Modification of Pressure Mounts to Prevent Bowing of Plexiglas® / Deborah Bede
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Analysis of Three Chuspas from the Collection of the Huaca Malena, Peru / Lourdes Chocano Mena
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Weaving Art of Assam: Threats for Survival / Subhra Devi
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Investigations into Naphtalene Mitigation on Museum Objects / Susan Heald, Odile Madden
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Restoration of Ethnographic Textiles from Teotitlan del Valle: Experiences Inside an Indigenous Community: / Karen Landa Elorduy, Mariana Almaraz Reyes, Ximena Bruna Lema, María Eugenia Desirée Buentello García, Emmanuel Lara Barrera, María Fernanda Martínez Rocha
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The Ethnographic Feather Collection at the Museo Juan B. Ambrosetti / Silvana Di Lorenzo, María Pía Villaronga
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Conservation or Restoration: Are There Specific Limits in Treatment of a Multi-Component Chest? / Stavroula Rapti, Ermioni Takou, Christoforos Stylianou, Ekaterini Malea
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The Use of SEM in Investigating Gel Residues on Cotton Textiles, after Spot Cleaning Treatments / Maria Stavropoulou, Stavoula Rapti
Sponsors
Local Committee
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Hector Meneses, Event Co-ordinator
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Ana Paula Fuentes, Logistics
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Alejandro de Ávila, Logistics
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Miriam Ballesteros, Logistics
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Laura Gudiño, Logistics
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Salvador Maldonado, Logistics
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Adriana Sabino, Logistics
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Guadalupe Cancino, Accounting
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Sara Cué, Accounting
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Verónica Luna, Accounting
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Jesica Vera, Accounting
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Mirel Fraga, Design
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Giovanni Osorio, Design
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Anacani Ramón, Design
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Eric Chávez, Workshops
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Lilia Ramírez, Workshops
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David Garza, Public Affairs
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Valeria Macías, Public Affairs
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Raymundo Fraga, Tours
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Eric Mindling, Tours (Traditions Mexico)