Since the 1980s I have worked for and with Indigenous communities, heritage groups, government agencies and the museum sector internationally. 

 

I am proud of my track record of positive relationships with Indigenous individuals, communities and organizations and of bringing Indigenous communities together with museums in productive and positive ways.

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My work links museums and Indigenous communities around collections of Indigenous heritage and cultural items, opening productive relationships for creative projects and resolving repatriation claims.

 

I have contributed to professional shifts in practice internationally regarding Indigenous heritage collections and ancestral remains. My publications include the widely-cited works Museums and Source Communities (2003, with Alison Brown) and This is Our Life (2013, with Cara Krmpotich). I was honoured to contribute to the development of RBCM’s Repatriation Handbook.

 

After working in the UK for 20 years providing national and international leadership in ethnographic museum curation, I have relocated to Peterborough, ON and am pleased to support changes in the museum profession internationally regarding repatriation and decolonization. 

Areas of expertise: 

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Identification and provenance research for 17thC-20thC Indigenous heritage items 

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Linking historic Indigenous collections to contemporary Indigenous communities, opening dialogues, grant writing for engagement projects, project management

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Extensive experience working collaboratively with Indigenous communities 

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Policy development in relation to repatriation, Indigenous access, decolonization 

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Leadership, coaching and mentoring in the museum and heritage sector

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Professional and postgraduate teaching on issues related to museums and Indigenous peoples, museum anthropology, material culture

 

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