Building on My Skill Sets: Life as an Intern September 2019-February 2020

My Young Canada Works internship with Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute (ACCI) as the Collection Assistant was filled with many different kinds of scholarship and opportunities to learn a variety of new things on the job. It has been an amazing opportunity getting to work with different staff members and learn from them; not only about the jobs they do but about the wonderful community of Ouje Bougoumou.

Being a member of the Collections team meant we had to design and build a display stand for My Grandmother’s Garden, a large framed artwork on loan to the museum from Flora Weistche of Waskaganish. This project was one of these skills building moments. The project was a labour of love and a group effort between the Conservator, the Registrar, the Programs Director and the Facilities Director. Each person had different idea and concerns and we all came together to create a sensible, sturdy and safe stand to support the artwork. This was an excellent demonstration to me of the types of teamwork that are required in museums.  Personally, it was a chance to work on my power tool skills and brush up on my math abilities to make sure everything lined up. 

Building the stand for My Grandmother’s Garden by Flora Weistche. I’m holding the support board while Jessica MacLean drills the board into place.  Photograph by Melanie Banks.

My Grandmother’s Garden, on completed stand in the entrance area of Aanischaaukamikw. Photograph by Chanelle Fabbri.

Over my 19 weeks of being an intern, I had a chance to work independently on a couple of projects, one of which was constructing mounts for the many snowshoes in the museum’s collection. Space in the secure storage area is at a premium, so it is paramount that all available space is used to its greatest potential. 

As of 2020, Aanischaaukamikw has over 30 pairs of unique, hand made snowshoes in the collection, many of which have come in with details about their makers and the specific details of how they were made, like the type of wood and sinews used. But for collections management, snowshoes are one of the worst culprits for occupying horizontal space on shelves but leaving plenty of vertical available above them. In order to fix this problem, I made mounts and spacers so two sets of snowshoes can be stacked on top of each other, without putting any pressure on the lower pair, therefore occupying space that was previously home to only one set of snowshoes. Aanischaaukamikw is well on their way to having the world’s largest Eeyou snowshoe collection, so more storage solutions will be needed in the coming years. 

I’m placing a mount on a pair of snowshoes. Photograph by Melanie Banks.

To see more snowshoes be sure to check out the online database:   cree.minisisinc.com

Not all of my work tasks were hands on with collections, some tasks were procedural. For example, I was given the opportunity to do much needed updates to the photography procedure document. I expanded this document to provide detailed instructions for any staff member or intern on how to photograph and organize the digital files for any object / belonging in the ACCI collections. This document will provide continuity to all future collections photography, to make sure there is consistency in file naming and where to locate the files. Part of this process included experimenting with how to take photographs that are very crisp and detailed, so that they can be used for multiple purposes in the future. 

My favorite part of my 19 weeks with ACCI was the ability to work with and learn from different people and departments of the cultural centre. Living in Ouje Bougoumou over the winter was  a bit of an adjustment from where I grew up, in southern Ontario, but it was a very  positive experience overall. I would encourage museums studies students to think of ACCI when looking for an internship opportunity, because it is a unique and special place to immerse yourself in Eeyou culture.   

By: Chanelle Fabbri, YCW Collections Intern 2019-2020

The trail of the Rabbit Fur Coat

One of the most exciting things that happened with our museum collection in the last few months was the amazing reunification of an object with the family of the maker.

In May 2015, ACCI hosted a Curatorial workshop lead by Moira McCaffrey, and one of the attendees was Linda Stewart Georgekish from Wemindji. At this time, she mentioned to us that her late mother Demaris Gilpin Stewart had made a rabbit fur coat ‘for a museum’ back in the 1980s and that she has been looking for it ever since! We informed her that we do have a few rabbit fur coats in our collection and that we would keep an eye out.

           A few months ago, Linda posted a photograph on Facebook of her nephew, Bernard Stewart, modelling the coat when he was a boy in 1980:

Bernard Stewart, 1980

Paula Menarick and the Beaded Hood...A Tradition lives on...

ACCI had a real treat before the Christmas holidays; we had a wonderful young lady, Paula Menarick, come to and work on-site for an entire week on replicating a beaded hood. The amount of work that she put into this project was absolutely incredible. The beads that she worked with were so small, the details in her stitching were exceptionally precise, and the care that was put into her work was something to admire. We are very happy that Paula was able to make the time to work on this extraordinary piece for us.

The beaded hoods that we have on display are beautiful. They symmetry, detail, and precision of work in the bead patterns is something that is a must see when visiting Aanischaaukamikw. The beads that were used were so incredibly small; we were worried that the needle might be too large for the beads themselves! Much of the knowledge about beaded hoods, from the use of them to knowing how to make them, is no longer passed from generation to generation in Eeyou Istchee. Aanischaaukamikw has done a large amount of research with Elders about the use of the beaded hoods and having a hood replicated at Aanischaaukamikw provided a unique insight into the process of making a hood. Watching an artist demonstrate how to place these tiny beads on a needle and then attach them to fabric, we were brought closer to our ancestors with every stitch.

Days 15 and 16 of the Heritage Preservation Project!

We rounded out the calendar year with trips to our neighbouring communities Waswanipi and Mistissini.

In Waswanipi we visited Cultural Coordinator Diane Cooper at the riverside location of the Waswanipi Culture Department.  Diane’s previous museum training means she is well aware of the different risks to heritage collections.  Insects are common threats, feasting on the proteins available in hides and furs.  And strong light and UV radiation can cause fading and deterioration.  Diane takes different measures to protect the collections in her care.  To kill off active insect attacks, she places the affected artefacts in the freezer.  To prevent light damage, she moves artefacts to darker areas of the building or places them under covers.  Specialized knowledge is necessary so that freezing and shading are carried out in the correct way with artefact-safe materials.

Diane Cooper showing us a moose hide top that suffered some light damage in the past.  The top is now kept out of direct sunlight, under a cover.

Diane Cooper holding up a stretched beaver pelt with a moth problem, destined for treatment in the freezer.

We enjoyed looking at all of the artefacts, art works and photographs currently on display in the building, and then toured other spaces in the community which may become the new home for the Culture Department in the future.  Safety and environmental protection are top priorities for Diane in her evaluation of the spaces, as is adequate room for the storage and display of artefacts.  We look forward to hearing about future plans for the Culture Department.

Our second stop in Waswanipi was at the Cree Trappers Association, where we interviewed Fur Officer Paul Dixon.  After looking at some recently purchased furs, Paul revealed to us his detailed recordkeeping system, through which he not only tracks fur purchases and sales, but the conditions on the trap lines and changes to the animal populations.  In addition to these valuable records, Paul collects issues of the Nation magazine.  Both of these collections deserve protection, and Paul was interested in hearing our recommendations for long-term care of paper materials, including using acid-free storage sleeves, folders and boxes to support the items and delay acidic discolouration and deterioration. Of course, Paul is mastering the first rule of preservation – collect!  

Paul Dixon, showing us just one of his collections – boxes of back-issues of the Nation magazine.

Our site visits have ended, and we are now home in Ouje-Bougoumou.  Stay tuned for announcements of next ventures of the Heritage Preservation Project on the ACCI website!  

A Night at the Museum

Did you ever wonder what happens at night in a museum? Did you ever see the movie “A Night at the Museum” with Ben Stiller? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if history came to life like in the movie? We could ask questions that only those who lived through historical events would know the answer to. What would you ask about our collection?

While here at Aanischaaukamikw we don’t have wax figures or models of historical figures on display, history does in fact come to life at night in our museum. The history that comes to life is not like in the movies. We rotate artifacts, taking a few objects out and replacing them with new ones. The history that comes alive is a new story about an artifact that has yet to be seen, and the stories that are told about these items.

The rotation of our collection occurs when the exhibit is closed and it is a very delicate process. Removing the acrylic top is the first step and it must be done very carefully. The acrylic top is there to protect the artifacts and the last thing that we would want to do is damage any of the items on display, thus lifting the acrylic top has to be done ever so carefully. Once the top is removed, the artifacts are removed (very carefully) then placed acid free tissue. Are you wondering why we are wearing gloves when handling objects? It is because we do not want to get any oils from our hands on the artifacts and risk damaging precious objects.

Once the original artifacts have been removed, placing the new items is the next step. Again, handling with care is essential in this process. Once the artifacts have been nicely placed and are ready to be viewed by all it is time to put acrylic top back on.

Now that the acrylic top is covering the artifacts can be enjoyed by all and a new story can be told about each and every new object on display. Really, while it is nice to think the museum comes to life at night, it really comes to life during the day when visitors to ACCI view and shares their thoughts on the items on display.

Although at night time…….