Woodland Cultural Centre, Reaction Paper Example

The Woodland Cultural Center is home to over thirty-five thousand artifacts which represent Canadian history; this makes the Woodland Cultural Center, as a museum, largest facilities in Canada managed and administered by First Nations (Woodland Cultural Center, 2006). The Museum has exhibitions which include different ethnological materials, historical material, contemporary paintings, drawings, archeological specimens, graphics, sculptures, photographs, fine crafts documents, furniture and contemporary installations. There are archeological and ethnographic collections which make up the permanent collection and these are all presented in a dramatic storyline (Woodland Cultural Center, 2006). I learned through my visit that this begins with Iroquoian and Algonkian prehistoric past and also throughout the 21st century.

The time I had spent at the Woodland Cultural Centre, we were given a tour of the centre and the history of the Six Nations. Part of that history included a re-telling of some experiences of residential schools, specifically the Mohawk Institute, which was closed in 1970 and sits next to the Woodland Cultural Centre. It was difficult to hear these stories as this was a low in Canadian and Anglican history. And we had an opportunity to reflect on our Primate’s apology on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada in 1993, as well as the Canadian Government’s apology in 2008.

The visits provided me with a lot of information and personal context to understand our history in what was new light for me. Having studied Canadian History in the past, this portion of history was presented differently from what I observed and reflected on in classes. And so, as I reflect on our experiences with Canadian Aboriginal peoples I begin to look for the history of the people who are around me and the stories of the indigenous people.

The exhibit which I found most endearing was the Crossing Paths Exhibit, entitled The Four Indian Kings and Queen Anne’s Silver. This was said to be released to mark the 300th anniversary of the historic meeting between Aboriginal emissaries and Queen Anne, the Portrait Gallery of Canada. It is a program of Library and Archives Canada, and is a series of original portraits. The exhibition, was said to open last October 8 but will only be there until December 24, 2010. It features a collection of portraits which are called the “Four Indian Kings” alongside the work of contemporary Six Nations artists Jeff Thomas and Shelley Niro.

The collection was said to be idealized European images of 18th century Aboriginal diplomats and this was placed together with contemporary photographs by Aboriginal artists; this created an engaging dialogue about identity and representation, stereotypes and icons, and agency and control and reflects much on the culture of the Aboriginal artists (Woodland Cultural Center, 2006).

I particularly liked the photograph called Ghosts, Girls, Grandmas by Shelley Niro. I believe that this represented the invisibility of the peoples during this time. It was a simple photograph which only showed the head of a woman, with the shutter speed kept long, and the colors reduced to only black and white, the artist created am image which blurred and resembled that of a ghost. I think that this is representative of the Aboriginal people, and how they were not real in society at that time, and this was placed next to idealized European images of the Aboriginal people. It sort of says that they are not well represented, nor were they really heard; they were but ghosts in society. I like the fact that a woman was used. It is because during this time, and up until more recent times, women were considered second class citizens in society. This makes them sort of ghosts. The minority was even more specified with the title, focusing on girls and grandmas. I think this is because little girls and the elderly woman have lesser of a say, making them somewhat more insignificant. The simplicity of the portrait says so much, and it could not have been executed in any other way. I particularly like the serenity in the face of the woman in the portrait. It was as if she was in pain, yet in acceptance. The blurring image which she left behind is haunting, and the expression is so deep. The lines on her face are evident, and it is as if she was worn of the ways in which her people are situated.

The older collection of images was interesting in their color and their spirit. The Aboriginal culture of the Natives were shown through the use of color, however they were misinterpreted in their clothing and were seem to be made almost a backwards community. However, their dresses and their poses seemed so stiff and life-less. This was placed in good comparison to the more expressive photographs in contemporary times in contrast of these images. What I would improve in this collection are probably more examples of European interpretations of the Aboriginals. This would provide much knowledge of their views at that time. Along with this, a good comparison with what more contemporary artists believe should have been shown could be included.

References

Woodland Cultural Center (2006). Museum Retrieved on Nov 26, 2010 from http://www.woodland-centre.on.ca/museum.php