Aanischaaukamikw welcomes Abel Bosum as President

Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute is proud to welcome Abel Bosum as President of our organization. Mr. Bosum was elected by our Board of Directors at their meeting on April 2, 2015, succeeding Dianne Ottereyes Reid. 

We look forward to benefiting from Mr. Bosum’s knowledge and experience during his term and foresee continuing advances for ACCI under his leadership. Mr. Bosum will have the complete support of, and enthusiastic collaboration from, the entire Aanischaaukamikw team as he works to further our mandate at the regional, provincial and national levels.

Moose Break at the Museum

During the week of October 6 ACCI was closed to the public for Moose Break, but that doesn’t mean that museum-y things don’t happen. 

So, what really happens to a museum when it’s closed for a week?  

Well, sadly none of our artifacts come to life, but the Collections Staff sure do because being closed for such a long time means we can clean artifacts, move cases, and spruce up the exhibit for our visitors!

The ACCI Collection Staff welcomed the arrival of our new Conservator, Fiona Hernandez by asking her if we could clean our two largest artifacts.   But why clean artifacts that no one every touches you might ask, well because even just sitting there they get dirty!

  

Using soft brushes and special vacuums so we didn’t damage the wood, canvas and paint Fiona and I carefully removed dirt and debris from the canvas canoe on loan to us from the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, before turning our attention to ACCI’s Odeyak. 

  

ACCI participates at the Association of Canadian Archivists Annual Conference

Every year the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) holds a fantastic conference somewhere in Canada.  This year the conference theme was Archivatopia and it was held in Victoria, at the historic Fairmont Empress Hotel.

I have been a member of ACA since I was a grad student and I have love participating in conferences – my first was in Toronto in 2009 where I was on the host committee and a poster presenter.  This year I was happy to be able to bring Lisa Petawabano along to the conference to present on one of ACCI’s projects.

Before the conference officially started, Lisa and I participated in the Aboriginal Special Interest Section annual meeting where we discussed activities of the group, and possible changes to the Aboriginal Archives Guide.  The guide was published in 2007 and a great deal has changed in the Aboriginal Archives world since then.  Possible changes discussed include adding a section about the TRC documents and oral testimony statement gathering that has been done across Canada, discussing policy and procedures and research policies.

To celebrate the start of the conference we were invited to an opening gala at BC Government House.  The view was exceptional and so was the company.  It was great to meet with archivists from all over the world and to catch up with friends.

Gregory Brass joined the staff at Aanischaaukamikw as Assistant Executive Director

On May 12th, Gregory Brass joined the staff at Aanischaaukamikw as Assistant Executive Director.

Gregory has done considerable work with the Cree Health Board and is completing his PhD in medical anthropology at McGill University, but has returned to one of his earlier interests, museum studies.

We all welcome Gregory and are happy to share his reflections on his first days here.

Gregory writes….

It took me 5 minutes to fall in love with Aanischaaukamikw. Truly, this is a stunning building! Dr Stephen Inglis, Executive Director, gave me a full tour upon the morning of my arrival. Overall I am in awe by what the facility has to offer and impressed by what the staff has accomplished in such a short period of time. The exhibit space is tastefully done and shows great respect for the objects and Cree culture. How the exhibited items have been displayed shows attention to detail as well as thoughtfulness given to the layout and the needs of visitors. Before I even started my new job I also looked at the on-line exhibits; it was a real treat to see these important items in front of me. One thing I particularly liked was listening to the Elders speak. This unique approach adds to the visitor’s experience. Of course, it is the floor below where the all action occurs.

 

My tours included the stored collections and various workspaces. This is part of what I love about working in cultural heritage facilities – the advanced mechanics and sophisticated technologies that make the place run, all the hidden corridors, and the storage spaces full of often old and fascinating materials. One can feel the steady hum of focussed activity. Over the past week I have been getting to know the staff working here. I am deeply impressed by all of them. They really know their areas of professional responsibility well. They bring with them a high level of education along with significant past experiences and training. Importantly, their individual commitment to each other and the organization is evident. From what I have heard and seen so far there is a strong collective motivation to see this place succeed in its mission to promote Cree culture and bring it forward into the future. In my position as Assistant Executive Director, my aim will be to help foster this potential, not just for the facility, visitors and future generations but the people who will make Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute a successful world class museum and centre for celebration and learning. What a fabulous place to work! I am honoured to work here and look forward to working with all of you!

Meet our interns

Aanischaaukamikw has brought aboard two summer interns.  Tania Lariviere and Siikuun Wapachee have join our team as tour guides and summer programmers.  They will be here to offer visitors tours of the exhibit and building, as well as helping to run some of our summer programming.

Welcome to all.

Suzanne Kitchen, Tour Guide

Aanischaaukamikw has hired a new tour guide, Suzanne Kitchen brings a life time of traditional knowledge with her to this position.  Suzanne has spent much of her life living in the bush, continuing to practice her culture in the setting of her ancestors.  We are very pleased that she has joined our team as she has a wealth of knowledge to share with others.

Welcome to the team….

Thank you Christine!

Our spring intern Christine Desroches is a museum tech student from College Montmorency.  She is finishing up her last week here at ACCI and we asked her to write a few lines about her time here at Aanischaaukamikw.  We were very happy to have her as part of our team!

Already 6 weeks! I had a wonderful experience at ACCI and I am grateful for having the chance of doing my internship here.

I had the chance to do what I love to do the most, which is being a museum technician, with a fantastic collection. I also had the chance to learn and discover the Cree culture and history.

During my time here, I had the chance to practice what I’ve learned in class (that was important to me) and to learn about museums, archives and library practices. I had the chance to be surrounded by passionate people who took the time to help me, show me and discuss with me. I am grateful for the trust they had in me and that they integrated me in the everyday life in a museum institution.

As part of my internship, I did the unpacking and documentation of the framed artwork, but I also had the chance to do a variety of action. I did the documentation of the shovel that was used for the ground breaking for the ACCI. I took pictures of artefacts, vacuumed archives, did an inventory of the collection (which is beautiful!) and plenty other actions to help the conservation of the collection.

 I want to say thank you to everyone at ACCI for their warm-hearted welcome. It has been a pleasure for me to work with the team.

Guest post by Christine Desroches

Spring Cleaning!

The museum may be closed to the public during Goose Break, but museum staff have been working hard to do some spring cleaning before the museum opens again.

The library got a full cleaning last week.  Everything from shelves to carpets were washed in preparation for the summer.

One of the best ways to make sure that pests and insects stay out of the museum is to keep things clean.  Visitors often ask us about the little inset traps and mouse traps that are set all over the museum and why they are there.  We set the traps to make sure that our collections are safe from all kinds of different pests that would like nothing better then to eat everything we keep.

The museum staff members make sure that the insect traps are checked on a regular basis.  They keep track of all the different kinds of bugs that they find during the year and look for areas that might need to be watched. Spring is a very busy time for bugs and traps have to be checked more often then in the winter, notably around the front doors.

Cleaning does happen on a daily basis in the museum, but spring cleaning is always a great time to make sure we catch up on everything.

Have a great Goose Break everyone!

Guest post by Raegan

Notes from ACCI's Spring Intern - Christine Desroches

Christine came to ACCI in April from College Montmorency where she has almost completed the Techniques de Museologie program.  Her internship is 6 weeks long and we at ACCI are happy to have her here!  We asked Christine to write about the projects that she has been working on here at ACCI.

My first project at ACCI was to do the complete documentation of 11 framed artworks. These artworks are part of a long-term loan from the CRA Board of Compensation. Some of them are already on display in the open storage area of the hallway leading to the exhibition. Doing the documentation of an object is allowing it to enter the museum world and be preserved it for generations to come.

Unpack

Each artwork was individually wrapped. It was a simple packing and undoing it was easy. While taking the artwork out, I had to look for any sign of damage.  I also had to look in the wrapping for any pieces that could have fallen off.

Condition Report

After putting down the artwork on cushioning foam, I filled in a condition report. On this report, I write and locate any damage that the object could have. There is also a small part about the object’s measurements and description. Finally, if the object has any special needs or if I have to make a recommendation for the conservator I also write that down in this report.

The condition report is really important when receiving a new object in a museum. It allows us to know all the damages from his previous life, as well as, in the long term, know if a deterioration is new or was already there. We could say that the condition report is like a medical exam that we do for every object to keep it healthy.

A tribute to Dr. Sarah Pashagumskum

CPR Training

From February 24 until February 27 ACCI and CNG staff will learn about CPR and First Aid procedures. The training given by Bruno Blacksmith will teach the staff on how to proceed in case of emergencies ensuring our staff is well prepared to act in many emergency scenarios. Staff that had already taken the course is having the chance to revisit the content and update their knowledge to the newest procedures approved by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. 

So far we had a great time during the training; our instructor understands the needs of our group and answered all our questions. Look at us practicing with our dummies! 

We also learned that we need to remain calm under stressful situations as that will help us to help others! So DO NOT PANIC, you can do it! 

Thank you Jen for organizing the training, and staff for participating. Good luck to the next group!

Written by Marina Piza, Coordinator of Collections and Exhibits.