A Cree Museum of Footprints exhibition wins Governor General's History Award
Ottawa, Jan 28 (IBNS): A multimedia exhibition, 'Footprints: A Walk Through Generations', developed by the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute (ACCI) in Oujé Bougoumou, the newest Cree community, of Quebec, Canada -- won a 2018 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Museums, media reports said on Monday.
The Governor General's History Award for Excellence would reportedly be handed out on Monday,during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, the official residence in Ottawa of the Governor General of Canada, the national representative of the Canadian Monarch.
The ancestors of the current Cree population, reportedly have occupied the James Bay of Northern Quebec land for nearly 5,000 years and considered themselves as a nation of hunters and had been following the seasons and animal migrations.
'Walking out ceremony', is reportedly a ritual in which children, dressed in traditional clothing, are officially welcomed into the community. According to the Cree tradition, children’s feet are not supposed to touch the ground outside of a tent until the ceremony takes place. Therefore, the ritual is usually held as soon as a child is able to stand or walk on their own.
Unveiled in 2017, the exhibition contains about 150 artifacts linked to the many facets of walking in Cree culture, and.has since travelled to each Cree community.
A release by the Governor General's office said that History Awards, established in 1996 to recognize excellence in teaching, have since expanded to recognize teaching methodology of history, which included museums, community programming, scholarly research and media,
In total, 18 were given out for the 2018 History Awards.
Centre's priorities, such as Indigenous driven research, language and culture preservation, were displayed by the exhibition, said, Sarah Pash, chief executive officer of ACCI and added that winning award is a recognition of ACCI's quality research and helped promote our culture beyond our nation.
The exhibition presents artifacts from a walking out ceremony marking a young Cree child's first encounter with nature, the whole of it included with archival photographs,audio and video elements.
ACCI is a non-profit organization, added Pash, and dependent upon government funding and private donors.
In May 2019, the exhibition is expected to begin a cross-Canada tour with a 10 month visit to the Canadian Museum of History, in Gatineau, Quebec.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
Images: "Walking out" ceremony of cree culture/twitter; Sarah Pash/Facebook
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