Museum moves to track B.C. cultural items abroad

RBCM to work with Czech museum, First Nations

Museum officials in Victoria and the Czech Republic have signed an agreement to better track First Nations artifacts held beyond B.C.’s borders.

The deal, billed as a “landmark” agreement, was signed by the Royal B.C. Museum and the Narodni museum in Prague.

“This is the first stage in an ambitious plan to ‘map out’ a database of cultural treasures from British Columbia held by international museums,” said Jack Lohman, chief executive officer of the Royal B.C. Museum.

“This partnership with the national museum in the Czech Republic is a pilot project, the first opportunity for First Nations and the Royal B.C. Museum professionals to work together to study, catalogue and share knowledge of valuable collections held abroad.”

A statement from the Royal B.C. Museum said the pact aims to build understanding of First Nations materials in both institutions’ collections, as the museums share expertise and best practices.

It also aims to develop collaborative activities and use digitization as a tool with collections.

The agreement will focus on Pacific Northwest Coast collections, facilitate visits by indigenous people, lead to the sharing of information about cultural heritage and possibly bring about the production of a joint publication.

The British Museum and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa recently reached a similar arrangement that led to the comprehensive cataloguing of Maori artistic creations held in the British Museum’s collections.

News of the agreement comes as the Royal B.C. Museum and the First Peoples’ Cultural Council prepare to co-host a symposium on First Nations repatriation in Kelowna on March 29-31.