Collaborative Relations
Indigenous Peoples around the world designed, built, and used the first canoes and kayaks. The canoe embodies Indigenous cultural memory – and is a living artifact with both historical and contemporary relevance. Across what is now known as Canada, activity around the canoe has strengthened Indigenous Peoples’ connections to their land, culture, language, and communities. As part of the exhibit design and development process, the Museum will invite Indigenous Peoples to share their stories in their own voices as together, we work to preserve and share these artifacts in the collection.
In essence, this means sharing authority for the research, documentation and representation of Indigenous culture and looking to acknowledge the impacts of colonization. The exhibit development process supports the Museum’s strategic plan and its Principles for Engaging and Consulting with FNMI Communities. The new museum’s exhibit spaces will support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
“At this time in Canada, we are beginning a process for Truth and Reconciliation. Together, we need to learn, understand and acknowledge our shared history. We can’t do that without first knowing and understanding the impact of the canoe in Canada’s story, from those very early times when the first visitors came to our shores. The Canadian Canoe Museum provides us with an opportunity to learn, to feel, to smell, and to see the canoe in its diversity and endurance.”
Knowledge Clusters
The Museum has identified knowledge clusters, individuals, and communities – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – in specific geographic regions with connections to canoes in the collection. These knowledge clusters, as they are established and continue to grow, will be the basis for building relationships and facilitating ongoing dialogue. This is one way to ensure that Indigenous Peoples are respectfully engaged throughout the concept, design, and production phase of the Museum’s exhibits and well into the future.
The Journey Thus Far
In late 2018 the Museum created a new position, Director of Indigenous Peoples’ collaborative relations, designed to work closely with staff, board, volunteers and to reach out and facilitate relationship building between The Canadian Canoe Museum and Indigenous communities across Canada. Robin Binèsi Cavanagh filled the position for 2019, and together with Curator Jeremy Ward, phase 1 of the collaborative relationship process (building relations) was successfully initiated.
Due to travel restrictions and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, our collaborative relations in-person visits were cancelled for 2020 and 2021. Thanks to the digital tools we have all grown accustomed to during the pandemic this important work was able to continue and expand.
Currently, the Museum is hiring Indigenous Peoples from 8 different communities as Community Coordinators to support language-related projects that will create content for the new exhibits and support collections care. Building outwards from relations with Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, and Scugog – local Michi Saagig First Nations on whose territory the Museum resides – the Museum will work with Inuit communities in northern Labrador and Nunavik, the Mi’kmaq in the east, and the Haida Gwaii Museum in the west. In each community, the Museum’s team will gather knowledge about canoes and kayaks, their roles in resource harvesting, changes caused by settlement, and the resurgence of Indigenous watercraft-making and use as part of community healing.
“The Indigenous Languages Program enables Indigenous People from communities of origin for the Museum’s collection to contribute to the creation of the new exhibits and ensures that their voices are heard from the moment the visitor steps into the new building. This work supports Indigenous community goals and protocols and will be transformative for the Museum.”
“The Canadian Canoe Museum has been given an incredible opportunity to create reciprocal relationships with the communities and people that make these canoes and kayaks come alive. I feel honoured to be part of this journey and am looking forward to sharing the stories that make the Museum such a special place.”
Looking Ahead
2021: Co-creating and sharing material
Working directly with 8 Indigenous Community Coordinators, the Museum will identify specific stories, themes, archives, artifacts and other opportunities for the co-creating of material to be used within exhibitions (e.x: interviews, vocabulary, audio and visual recordings, canoe-building, etc.).
2022: Continued co-creating and exhibit design, exhibit production
Community Coordinators and the Museum’s Exhibits Project and Design teams will continue to work closely to co-create and share materials. Work begins on content review, writing, and translation before moving onto production. All content and knowledge gathered in Indigenous communities (transcripts, interviews, recordings) will be archived in each community as well as with the Museum.
2023: Exhibit opening and ongoing relationship building
We will celebrate in multiple voices and languages at the new museum’s official opening and ensure relationships formed during the exhibit development process are nurtured well into the future. Brand new exhibits and educational programming will be unveiled!
For further information, please contact:
Jeremy Ward, Curator
[email protected]
Dr. Laura Peers, Exhibits Project Manager
[email protected]
The Indigenous Languages Program is supported by TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment.
Design & Build News
Canadian Canoe Museum receives $750,000 to develop exhibits for new 20,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall
Canadian Canoe Museum receives a $750,000 investment from FedDev Ontario towards developing exhibits for the new museum’s 20,000-square-foot Exhibition Hall.
Local Love: The trades, suppliers, & consultants bringing to life the new Canadian Canoe Museum and Inspiring Canada – by Canoe!
The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) is building an extraordinary new home for our one-of-a-kind collection and unique programming on the water’s edge in Peterborough, Ontario. A purpose-built facility on the water, with an array of indoor and outdoor spaces, will allow us...
Including Indigenous Languages in the new Canadian Canoe Museum
Voices, languages and perspectives from Indigenous communities will be an integral part of the Canadian Canoe Museum’s new building and exhibitions. Recently we invited Waaseya-Kwe [Bright Light Woman, Turtle Clan] Kim Muskratt, a citizen of Hiawatha First Nation, one...
The Canadian Canoe Museum invites the community to help Move the Collection
The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) will host a formal event, today starting at 11:00am, celebrating the beginning of the building of its new world-class museum at the Johnson Property located at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, ON.
The Canadian Canoe Museum seeks leadership volunteers
The Canadian Canoe Museum, located on the Traditional Territory of the Williams Treaties First Nations, in Peterborough, Ontario, stewards the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft. More than 600 in number and with a significant representation of Indigenous canoe cultures from across Canada and around the world, the watercraft and their stories have a pivotal role to play in understanding our past – and our collective future. Each year thousands of visitors from across the world visit the Museum, both virtually and in person, to explore the histories of Canada through the lens of the canoe and kayak.
Museum on the Move: Canadian Canoe Museum Commences Construction
The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) will host a formal event, today starting at 11:00am, celebrating the beginning of the building of its new world-class museum at the Johnson Property located at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, ON.
Canadian Canoe Museum completes purchase of Johnson Property, signs construction contract
The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) announced that on September 22, 2021 it completed the purchase of Johnson Property, from the City of Peterborough. The land at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, ON is the site where it will build its new world-class museum slated for completion in 2023.
New Canadian Canoe Museum to feature languages and voices from Indigenous communities throughout exhibits
Indigenous Languages Program supported by TD Bank Group Kokomis Tchiman, a 26-foot long birchbark canoe built by Marcel Labelle, Métis elder and canoe-builder from the Mattawa Ontario region, sits on display in the Canadian Canoe Museum’s collection storage centre....
A Message to Our Community in Response to Peterborough Canoe & Kayak Club’s Statements
We are committed to continuing to be an active, open and transparent community member. As educators, storytellers and strong proponents of canoeing and kayaking, we applaud all organizations that provide opportunities for individuals to learn and experience the beauty of paddling in all its forms. Furthermore, we strongly object to anyone misleading community members by suggesting that we are involved or are responsible for matters that are simply out of our scope and out of our hands.