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Arts & Communication Reconciled futures

development and implementation of programs are The MOV learned a lot by doing this initiative, and this
with the support and guidance of Elders, Squamish work has been carried into a program for professional staff
language speakers, community groups, educational from the host nations, called Knowledge Repatriation. Initial
10
organizations, and government agencies. workshops for that initiative, launched in 2022, target lost
The work of this department belongs to all forms or traditional knowledge and curating workshops for
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw Members, from the professional staff from the MST communities who routinely
youngest to the oldest, on and off reserve, and is at engage in projects that support cultural learning within their
the foundation of who we are and where we come own communities. Some of these individuals support schools
from as a Nation.” 17 on their reservations, or those attended by children from
their communities. As the project moves forward into the
While language was not a part of this initiative, as the rd
youths were from different communities, Reconciled Futures 3 year of development, our partners are expressing a desire
for us to expand the scope of the workshops to reach other
did provide direct access to culture and heritage. Youths members of their respective communities, such as artists and
learned that they could access their cultural belongings in a youth, which could bring us back to this pilot project.
museum storage area and how to handle them safely. They
were exposed to museum staff from different departments Ultimately, programs such as Reconciled Futures
(Curatorial, Conservation, Fabrication, and Education). and Knowledge Repatriation help to build and maintain
They met several Indigenous staff members at the museum relationships. Projects that promote learning related to
and spent time with artists from their communities. During art production and traditional knowledge, especially
the week, they also met with professional staff from the when youths are involved, are reparative – they create
Green Infrastructure team and learned about their roles and opportunities for transformative moments that foster a
how their work aligned with concepts of water stewardship. sense of identity and well-being.
This project was also a success for the Green Acknowledgments
Infrastructure team as the initiative not only supported
reconciliation but also resulted in public art for one of their The author wishes to acknowledge the support of Melina
demonstration projects. Reconciled Futures was deemed a Scholefield, Executive Officer, ZEIC for her contributions
unique success for the City of Vancouver’s engineering to the original Reconciled Futures project, and for providing
department by those involved. It was a good first step, but images of the completed sculptures while she was part
there was room to grow. Reconciliation work should always of the City of Vancouver’s Engineering Department. The
be undertaken with a direct purpose. By tying our work to author also acknowledges Karen Francis (Gitxsan artist)
a construction project with fiscal restraints, we introduce for her art mentorship during the spring break camp and
an extractive element to our work. In delivering the final her work to support the City of Vancouver while they
report, MOV staff was careful to stress that the timeline for completed the sculptures designed by the youth. She also
the pilot project would not be sustainable in the long term. acknowledges the local artists who taught art workshops
The speed, at which the program needed to be developed, for this camp: Aaron Nelson Moody (Squamish Nation),
and delivered, also limited the amount of consultation that Ocean Hyland (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), Kelsey Sparrow
(Musqueam Nation), Atheana Picha (Kwantlen Nation),
could be done with representatives of the host nations with and Marcel Russ (Haida Nation). Jasmine Wilson of the
whom MOV routinely works. Despite these constraints, Musqueam Nation also supported Karen during the camp,
it should be noted that we received support from these while working as part of the MOV’s Education Team.
nations – especially when it came to recruitment for the
positions. Funding
Why did the work not continue? The MOV and the None.
Green Infrastructure team were exploring ideas for a new
initiative when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. Soon Conflict of interest
after, Melina Scholefield stopped managing the team (she
is now at the non-profit Zero Emissions Innovation Centre The author declares no conflict of interest.
[ZEIC]). These two occurrences disrupted the working Author contributions
relationship between the two institutions and removed
access to potential funding. In addition, the pandemic This is a single-authored article.
altered the museum’s activities for several years and Ethics approval and consent to participate
initially reduced capacity – particularly in learning and
public engagement. Not applicable.

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 9 doi: 10.36922/ac.2488