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weekly-ish updates about getting my MA in public history

November 24th, 2022

Blog #7: Virtual Exhibit Review: Mootookakio'ssin: Distant Awareness

In class we've been talking a lot about the virtual world of public history and I keep thinking back to this one online museum - Mootookakio'ssin: Distant Awareness. Basically, there's a crazy amount of Blackfoot artifacts overseas in European museums barring Blackfoot people from the material knowledge these objects provide. As a solution, both the University of Lethbridge and Red Crow Community College made it their mission to recover and make accessible the Blackfoot cultural record through the creation of the Blackfoot Digital Library (BDL). The BDL is home to an immense amount of digital records cared for by Danielle Heavy Head and routinely accessed by Indigenous community members.

Part of this digital library is the "microsite" Mootookakio'ssin, or Distant Awareness, which aims to virtually connect Blackfoot people to Blackfoot objects stored overseas. In an effort to be culturally sensitive, the library pays respect to the Blackfoot worldview which holds that knowledge is derived from place, which is why all of the objects are displayed with reference to their original location.

Mootookakio'ssin uses technology designed to display 3D and RTI images of Blackfoot items allowing visitors to interact with them through computer devices. The website is really easy to navigate making it accessible to anyone able to read and comprehend history - I would say maybe ages 10 and up give or take a few years.

Scrolling changes the colors from calming green and yellow to a more sinister orange and red, bringing the viewer to a line on the screen that reads: "So why is Little Plume's awl case in England?" We are then met with a brief history of European colonization in the region leading to the genocide of Indigenous people. Here its is important to note the use of the word genocide as it is a highly politicized topic in Canada because the government continually fails to recognize the treatment of Indigenous people as genocide.

Under the "explore" section of the website viewers are brought to a wheel of digitized objects to select from. Once an object is chosen, you are brought to another page where viewers can explore both 3D renderings of the object and high definition photos. Additionally, there are texts about the significance, history, materials, and designs of the object.

Overall, the exhibit is extremely interactive and probably one of the best examples of online exhibits I have ever come across. It takes full advantage of all the internet has to offer (even including a "night mode" lighting option to make viewing easier on people's eyes!) while remaining easy to navigate. Additionally, as explained by Heavy Head, the website's artwork (headings, banners, background color and textures) is also key to the exhibit as it displays landscape and animal representations significant to the Blackfoot worldview. This way, even when you are looking for a citation or contact information, you are still learning. Another important element I noticed was the very visible inclusion of an email designed to receive feedback about the site. In this way, the creators indicate their openness to collaboration and improvement to the site. The openness to critique also helps to bridge the gap between virtual and physical by opening a line of communication between visitors and organizers.

October 15th, 2022

Blog #6: Oil Springs, Ontario

Another great public history trip for the books!

We got to see Oil Springs Ontario and visit the Oil Museum of Canada. I was really happy to have a chance to learn about a small museum post-Covid and post-renovations. I felt like I was seeing a lot of cool ideas put to work both in terms of accessibility and tech! The best part of small museums IMO is the amount of creative freedom the staff seems to have. They were able to show us new tech an exhibits they've implemented over the last couple years. A tip I noted was the importance and power of the use of windows in place-based museums (like museums that are physically on the grounds of the history they're depicting). Like you would read a display, look at artifacts and images, and turn your head slightly to see where it would have been. A really simple way to get people to fully immerse themselves in history. They also had a VR set up similar to the one at the MOA however, theres was more independent whereas the MOA VR requires staff. While I think their independent set up works fairly well, I think they could have the instructions more obviously posted/part of the exhibit instead of in a small booklet off to the side. The museum also had their collections room open for visitors to look at artifacts that were not or could not be on display. What a great idea! If possible, I think more museums should make their collection/storage spaces more accessible. Like, if its going to sit on a shelf, it might as well be open to the public instead of behind closed doors. Especially artifacts that may never be properly understood or repatriated, or items that are simply in storage because no one has bothered (or can think of a way) to make them into a display. Overall, awesome staff, beautiful and engaging museum! Would totally love to intern there this summer except it is not possible to reach the museum unless you have a car. Ontario am I right?

King Mike proving that good parking is all about confidence! Because why take one spot when you can have 4?

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I was so obsessed with this awesome exhibit at the Oil Museum. It was a poster stuck onto the wall with a projector nearby which could display animations when you waved your hand over certain parts. Really good way to keep people entertained and engaged in a text-heavy display.

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Our lovely tour guides brought us to a historic point on the property overlooking a famous mural. I thought it was pretty cool to have a historic photo directly in front of where it was taken. I love comparing old photos to their present-day locations and this seemed like such a simple way to achieve this without anything really expensive (ex. tech)

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Sorry for the ugly portrait mode shot but I had to include a shot of beloved Jack, the ass. Did you know that donkeys will run and happy cry when they hear their owners ? Exactly like dogs! He didn't really have anything to teach us about history except that sometimes a little comedic relief is a nice addition to historic sites

Now, this wasn't actually part of the museum or tour of the grounds, but I loved it anyway. Our guide explained it had been carved out by students and workers over the years and idk I just find stuff like this so nice to see. Theres something so cool about how universal the simple joy of carving your name into something seems to be. Its a cute habit of youth that seems to be lasting generations. Like I probably would have nothing in common with Dexter of 1972 except that we were both here, and wanted that to be known.

A pic of me and Jack, I miss him so much!!!!

October 7th, 2022

Blog #5: A newfound respect for podcast hosts (excluding Joe Rogan types)

You know how some people worry about their online banking information getting stolen? Or their photo storage system getting hacked into? Well not me. I spend every waking moment in fear that someone will somehow access my imovie library.

Ever since the 7th grade, any time their was an option for a "creative" presentation instead of a power point or essay I was 100% taking it. In my 22 years of life I have written 8 raps to the tune of Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby. Like I'm not even joking, anytime I would get assigned a project I would copy and paste the lyrics of the song into a google doc and just re-write it while maintaining the same syllables and rhyme pattern. And obviously I would have to record a dope music video to go along with it! And don't you think for a second that my creative abilities were limited to music - my imovie is full of made up plays, commercials, and as of 2 days ago, a podcast.

Now, I don't normally start assignments with as much blind confidence as I did this one, but with all my performance experience and 2 years of studying the topic in university, I figured what could possibly go wrong? And like...its talking. A podcast is legit just talking. And I talk so much! I don't mean to brag, but I was consistently a "distraction to others in class" throughout all of elementary and high school! But damn recording a podcast is no joke. I really wanted it to feel like a conversation and so instead of a script I put talking points on little cards and taped them where I could see them while I recorded. I had so many things I wanted to say and was so confident I would be able to get it all in because it is a topic I am very passionate about.

I wanted to talk about how Canadian nationalism / nationalist myths are socially and physically constructed, using Algonquin Provincial Park as an example. And I think I more or less got the message across but as I was listening over I kept feeling like I wanted to add more. Like, when I proofread an essay for example, its a nice process because I can add in, move, or take out stuff. But I had an issue with my podcast because I could only record it outside of my house (loud roommates lol) and so when I was doing the editing at home I did not have the tools required to record more stuff to replace/add in. Logistically this was frustrating because while I left the office with 30 minutes of recorded material I only ended up with 12! Its crazy how much of my "profound intellectual thoughts" sound so stupid when they're played back on a recording. And also why has nobody told me that I say "yunno?" more than any rational human being should. Speaking of which, I would actually like to take this time to formally apologize to anyone I have ever been in a tutorial with because why do I talk like that its so annoying. And I repeat myself so much! Like I will fully use the same example twice in a sentence and not notice.

Anyway, I did enjoy the process and I like the format of conversation for talking about research and history in general. For next time, I would definitely keep my microphone with me throughout the editing process to add in more ideas because it was so frustrating feeling trapped with what was essentially incomplete thoughts. In a way maybe having more of a script would've been helpful for this, but I really think if I did that I would lose the casual/conversational flow I wanted to maintain in my podcast. Overall, it was a cool experience and a format of public history I am definitely interested in exploring further.

October 1st, 2022

Blog #4: Natural Clay Pottery Course at MOA

Today the Museum of Ontario Archeology hosted the 5th part in a Natural Clay Pottery course that started this summer. The students sourced the clay themselves, and used it it to mold various items. More information can be found here. The course hosts were awesome and very knowledgeable - they do a great job of informing all the students of the various pottery methods of different Indigenous groups used in this course! They also bring in some modern methods, specifically the use of different chemicals to create different colours. Below you will find a video I put together of the pit firing day! At this stage, the pots have gone through one round of firing and are being placed in the pit to go through another round of firing which will result in different patterns and further solidify the pots. It was great to see the community bonding that both this class and the museum afforded. Also, the blend of traditional and modern methods of pottery is a great way to connect the past to the present!

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September 28th, 2022

Blog #3: Yes I am a grown up. Yes I still go on class field trips.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Which is great because I am very busy! Enjoy a little picture journal of my class trip to Elgin county....

Painting of the St. Thomas railway station in its heyday at the newly renovated CASO station

Unique use of floorspace at the site - they had a map of the railway system around the great lakes to see the original route. I thought this was an especially good use of space because the whole point of the renovation was to maintain as much of the original vibe as possible and a massive map on the walls would take away from that

Ok this might just be cool for me because I love all things skin care but look at this old vaseline!

The Elgin county railway museum

They're working with limited space right now due to maintenance issues but they took advantage of the temporary barriers to block off a section by covering them in old photos of Canadian railways

We also got to see the old St. Thomas Church

We got a lovely tour of the cemetery and the Reverend made sure to tell us that the old St. Thomas rumor of witches haunting this site was not true.

It was pretty cool to see evidence of pseudohistory impacting a community! In this picture you can see some little crystals someone put out as protection. Or maybe provocation. It is almost halloween after all

Port Stanley!

Nigel and I spent 30 mins trying to break this rock open to get the pretty crystals out but we did not succeed. I brought the thing back to school with me so stay tuned for when I finally get it open.

Another cool rock we found had some fossils all over it and some shells and stuff still sticking out (pictured). Alas, this find was part of a big boulder and I really don't think our bus could've handled it

September 21st, 2022

Blog #2: Girlbossing at Museum School

Today was my first official day as an education assistant at the Museum of Ontario Archeology. I helped my supervisor Leeanne run a few programs with a 3rd grade class from a local elementary school. In the morning I got to help the kids with our virtual reality game where they could explore what the inside of a longhouse would have looked like when it was occupied. It was awesome to see how quickly the kids got a handle on the game. I've always been so hesitant of VR in educational settings because I just don't really like it. But I have a completely new outlook after seeing how much fun the kids had and how much they actually learned! For example, one of the students was taking her turn and decided to go onto the top bunks of the longhouse. She quickly noticed these "beds" were clearly not for sleeping and were being used for storage. Before I could explain why, her friends (who were watching her play on the screen outside) jumped in to tell her it was probably because of the fire pit in the longhouse and how the smoke was rising to the top. They were essentially spot on - the lower bunks were for sleeping and the upper ones were for drying and storage because of the heat and smoke. This is my by far my favourite part of hands on learning - how without having to do anything other than provide the necessary environment for the lesson, kids can figure stuff out without being talked at. I know VR is complicated, expensive, and not 100% effective most of the time, but this experience did give me hope for the future as more and more learning seems to be done online.

Other activities we did included a museum scavenger hunt, a worksheet where kids could compare tools from traditional Indigenous societies to modern day appliances, and 'Just Dance' battles to give them a little movement break. Personally, I thought I was an excellent dancer but the kids informed me quite quickly that my "YMCA" was just not up to par.

My day ended by preparing materials for tomorrow's activities where the kids get to use all the learning they did today and build a mini longhouse. Unfortunately, I will not be there to see the end results, but I had my friend promise to take lots of pictures for me.

Looking forward to more work with kids and working my way up to guiding adult tours!

Quote of the week:

"Are you 30?" - Luke (age 8)

This has nothing to do with public history but it hurt my feelings and I need people to know about it.

September 14th, 2022

Blog #1: What is Public History?

I moved to London on September 1st. Since then I have been living with with two strangers, began three courses at a new university, and started to work at a new job. It has been, for lack of a better term, a lot. The speed at which everything seems to be happening is perhaps the most jarring aspect of this experience. In my first week I think I spent more time trying to go through all my emails than on any of my readings. Thats why I was so happy with my first official class with Prof. Hamilton. We got to discuss our interest in the field and it felt great to ground myself in why we were in this program. The public history program is really small this year which allows us to get into more in-depth conversations. We had a really nice talk about what constitutes public history and it was great to hear a lot of new perspectives. I decided to make a mind map from the ideas brought up in conversation. If I were to put it into words, I think I would define public history as preservation made accessible. A way of getting a group of people to understand and appreciate culture and history outside of a typical classroom setting. I like to think of my work as in between a high school teacher and someone conducting historical research at a university or another institution. A unique aspect of public history that I like to emphasize when explaining my program to other people is that public history seems to have a focus, or more room for a focus, on justice. Whether you're trying to help the environment, or a social, political, or cultural group, public history projects allow you to use the past to remedy the current and maybe even the future.

Quote of the week:

"Intellectually rigorous, politically aware, and socially engaged, public history challenges boundaries in exciting ways." - David Dean and John C. Walsh

I really like this because it's how I envision modern public history or where its going. Public history isn't really a new concept but what is new is the way people are doing it/using it and why they are doing so. Public history is active, purposeful, and fluid. And right now, I think it has the potential to promote great change in both environmentalism and social justice.

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