Bill Smith on Cultural Reconnection and Reproduction
Berlin Ethnological Museum (Contributor)
Chugach Alaska Corporation (Contributor)
Chugach Heritage Foundation (Contributor)
Chugachmiut (Contributor)
William Smith (Creator)
Chugach Alaska Corporation (Contributor)
Chugach Heritage Foundation (Contributor)
Chugachmiut (Contributor)
William Smith (Creator)
Bill Smith reflects on his previous visit to the Berlin Ethnological Museum, sharing that it felt as though the ancestors were saying, “You found me.” He emphasizes that reproducing cultural objects is a way to ensure cultural transmission to future generations. Smith recounts that he has three dugout canoes at his house that were gifted to his mother from Sitka, and notes that while people are recreating qayaqs and bidarkas, greater access to traditional dugout models in museum collections would help communities in Alaska more accurately reproduce them. He underscores the importance of cultural artifacts in museums as resources that can empower communities to revive and practice traditional art forms, bringing ancestral knowledge into the present. He also discusses the responsibility that comes with knowing these artifacts are located in museums abroad and the responsibility to make sure the kids can access them and all the cultural knowledge they hold as well.
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