Preserving What Is Valued

Christine Hughes is manager, Policy Coordination, Developmental Services
Branch, Ontario Ministry of Community, Family and Children’s Services.

Clavir is senior conservator at the Museum of Anthropology and associate
of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British
Columbia. She draws on her experience to address an issue that has faced
a growing number of museums in North America in recent decades: how to
store and handle First Nations materials in a way that respects Native
cultural traditions. The impetus for the book originated with the
author’s own struggle as a conservator charged with preserving
cultural property and faced with a growing number of requests for the
loan of objects in the museum’s collection for use by First Nations
community members.

In this book, Clavir considers the meaning of “preservation,”
“use,” “object,” and “integrity of the object” from the
point of view of professional conservators, as well as First Nations
members. Part 1 sets out some basics of conservation: the desire to
preserve the cultural significance of a heritage object by preserving
its physical, esthetic, historical, and conceptual integrity. Part 2
records various First Nations’ perspectives on preservation and
museums, with an emphasis from British Columbia. Through their words,
the reader learns that many First Nations people view the preservation
of the cultural significance of a heritage object as inseparable from
the preservation of their traditions, oral history, community, and
identity. A chapter compares ideas from Maori and non-Maori museum
personnel with those in British Columbia.

This book is a useful reference for museum professionals and
conservators and for others working with First Nations collections in
either art galleries or auction houses. It contains a number of
black-and-white photos and various figures and tables that help to
simplify some of the concepts presented in the text. There are also
several appendixes, including the Conservation Code of Ethics, and a
comprehensive list of Internet resources for further research.