Fourteenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Museums have increasingly been exploring inclusion and diversity work and engaging in decolonizing educational programming. Complicating this undertaking are the fraught and violent histories that live within many, if not most, museum collections. The Aboriginal peoples of Canada suffered from systemic cultural genocide for hundreds of years through treaties signed under false pretences, the pillaging and theft of sacred objects and human remains, and the devastating Sixties Scoop and Residential School system. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report with ninety-four calls to action that address the crimes committed against Indigenous populations. This paper examines whether Canadian museums should be obligated to participate in furthering decolonizing counter-narratives through the repatriation of Indigenous remains and sacred objects in accordance with TRC recommendations.