Wendat professor-researcher, artist and designer Élisabeth Kaine died on December 29 of a stroke. Associate Professor at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC), where she taught from 1989, Ms.me Kaine notably co-founded the Bright Red Box, an Aboriginal non-profit organization for the preservation, transmission and promotion of Aboriginal cultural heritage.
She was curator of the permanent exhibition at the McCord Museum, Indigenous Voices Todayand also worked on the research behind the exhibition It’s our storydevoted to Aboriginal people at the Musée de la civilization in Québec.
But beyond the work carried out in these two institutions, Élisabeth Kaine, who specialized in design and material culture, worked a lot in the indigenous communities, on the ground, to initiate a work of decolonization. In particular, she collaborated with the Musée des Abénakis in Odanak. His colleague at the Bright Red Box, Denis Bellemare, also an associate professor at UQAC, remembers that when he arrived at the university in 1989, Ms.me Kaine had expressed his intention to “work in the communities with the artisans” and to offer training there. She was also, with Mathieu Cook, co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in cultural transmission among the First Peoples as a dynamic of well-being andempowerment.
If Denis Bellemare notes today that Elisabeth Kaine had “an enormous influence” on many researchers, including Jean-Philippe Warren and Denys Delâge, this recognition was slow in coming, he says.
“She was very determined, but very gentle,” he says. She had a very specific goal, but it took a long time for her to have institutional recognition. »
In an ironically titled articleStory of an Aboriginal incursion into museum territorypublished in the journalICOFOM Study Series in 2021, Elisabeth Kaine shared how showcasing their accomplishments empowered members of Indigenous communities.
“In a context where I can make sure never to lose sight of this goal of fulfillment, I remain convinced that this medium remains one of the most powerful tools ofempowerment and intercultural encounters. The exhibition projects carried out in collaborative mode with the First Peoples help them to better name their own culture, to value it and to transmit it,” she wrote.
That being said, in the same article, Elisabeth Kaine also described at length the persistent impression of not being listened to in her exchanges with museum institutions.
“The impression of the experience lived in this Other territory can be described as follows: even when I felt listened to at the beginning of the mandate, this listening rarely materialized in the exhibition”, she writes. She also specifies that “the ‘I’ is here inclusive of the voices of the hundreds of First Nations members whom I have met in the course of my research activities”.
Unlearn first
According to her, the only way to decolonize museums is for these institutions to “unlearn” their ways. “No decolonization of museums without almost complete changes in ways of doing things, which first of all implies “unlearning”. »
If, on the eve of her death, Elisabeth Kaine noted the progress made in this direction, she also understood that there was still “a long way to go”, continues Denis Bellemare.
“It’s not completely dark, in the sense that now we’re being asked for our opinion. 15 or 20 years ago, we were never asked, said Elisabeth Kaine in an interview at the beginning of December To have to. Western Canada has been at the forefront of change, including the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. In Quebec, it was slow. »
At a time when this movement seems to be taking off in earnest in Quebec, the sudden death of Élisabeth Kaine could have a cruel effect on the museum world.
“The announcement of his hasty departure is such a sadness and a huge loss for the museum community,” wrote Marc-André Champagne, head of public relations for the McCord Stewart Museum, on Monday. I had very few opportunities to speak to her, but she had a rather exceptional aura and showed great wisdom. To no longer be able to benefit from his knowledge is a real tragedy. »