About my work

Since the 1980s I have worked for and with Indigenous communities and the museum sector internationally. 

 

My work links museums and Indigenous communities around collections of Indigenous cultural items, opening productive relationships for creative projects and resolving repatriation claims. I am proud of my track record of positive relationships with Indigenous individuals, communities and organizations and of bringing Indigenous communities together with museums to work on mutual goals.

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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, facilitating communication

 

Grant writing and project management for Indigenous/museum engagement work

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Extensive experience working collaboratively with Indigenous communities 

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Policy development in relation to repatriation, Indigenous access to collections, 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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