[DOC] Resumes for Performing Arts Careers (McGraw-Hill Professional Resumes) by Editors of VGM Career Books at Arts-Photography

Description

In 1990; Gerald Conaty was hired as senior curator of ethnology at the Glenbow Museum; with the particular mandate of improving the museumrsquo;s relationship with Aboriginal communities. That same year; the Glenbow had taken its first tentative steps toward repatriation by returning sacred objects to First Nationsrsquo; peoples. These efforts drew harsh criticism from members of the provincial government. Was it not the museumrsquo;s primary legal; ethical; and fiduciary responsibility to ensure the physical preservation of its collections? Would the return of a sacred bundle to ceremonial use not alter and diminish its historical worth and its value to the larger society? Undaunted by such criticism; Conaty oversaw the return of more than fifty medicine bundles to Blackfoot and Cree communities between the years of 1990 and 2000; at which time the First Nations Sacred Ceremonial Objects Repatriation Act (FNSCORA)mdash;still the only repatriation legislation in Canadamdash;was passed. ldquo;Repatriation;rdquo; he wrote; ldquo;is a vital component in the creation of an equitable; diverse; and respectful society.rdquo; We Are Coming Home is the story of the highly complex process of repatriation as described by those intimately involved in the work; notably the Piikuni; Siksika; and Kainai elders who provided essential oversight and guidance. We also hear from the Glenbow Museumrsquo;s president and CEO at the time and from an archaeologist then employed at the Provincial Museum of Alberta who provides an insiderrsquo;s view of the drafting of FNSCORA. These accounts are framed by Conatyrsquo;s reflections on the impact of museums on First Nations; on the history and culture of the Niitsitapi; or Blackfoot; and on the path forward. With Conatyrsquo;s passing in August of 2013; this book is also a tribute to his enduring relationships with the Blackfoot; to his rich and exemplary career; and to his commitment to innovation and mindful museum practice.