Thirteenth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

This is a case study on museum participation of Ainu people and local residents at museums located in Nibutani, Hokkaido, Japan, where a majority of the residents are Ainu. Interviews, coupled with participant-observation, while doing a two-month internship at Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum, along with a survey conducted among visitors of the said museum were mainly employed. The study argues that with the introduction of “Nibutani kotan” project in 2019, linking not only museums and other cultural institutions but also natural sites in the community related to Ainu culture, the museum acts as a hub where people from different backgrounds meet allowing dialogues possible. At the museum, while cooperation with local Ainu occurs at the exhibition hall and the outdoor exhibits, the main space where locals and Ainu people are able to participate is through intangible cultural heritage activities. This refers to the experiential learning activities offered by the museum to visitors which include traditional dance performance, lectures, carving and embroidery lessons, as well as traditional Ainu instrument-making and performance. Using Simon’s (2010) classification of “participatory museum,” the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum specifically seems to employ all four participatory approaches but leans more towards collaborative projects. The study also identifies a number of issues related to indigenous people’s participation at museums even abroad, such as the still low engagement of Ainu people as professional workers or curators at museums, and the small number of people who actively participate in museum activities despite its close proximity to the community.