Cover image for Stored in the bones : safeguarding Indigenous living heritages
Title:
Stored in the bones : safeguarding Indigenous living heritages
Publication Date:
2023
Publication Information:
Winnipeg, Manitoba : University of Manitoba Press, 2023.
Physical Description:
xvii, 299 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm
ISBN:
9781772840452

9781772840469
Abstract:
A new tool for preserving Indigenous cultural heritages Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) are community-based practices, knowledges, and customs that are inherited and passed down through generations. While ICH has always existed, a legal framework for its protection only emerged in 2003 with the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In Stored in the Bones, Agnieszka Pawłowska-Mainville details her work with Anishinaabeg and Inninuwag harvesters to showcase their cultural heritage elements and to provide a new discourse for the promotion and transmission of Indigenous ICH. The book focuses on lived experiences of the akiwenziyag and kitayatisuk ("men of the land" in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwe and Inninumowin/Cree, respectively). These men shared their dibaajimowinan "life stories" and living heritage--from putting down tobacco to tending traplines--with Pawłowska-Mainville during her fifteen years in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. Illustrating the importance of ICH recognition, Pawłowska-Mainville describes her experience with the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission regarding the impacts of the Keeyask hydro development and her documentation of the Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage Site. Providing practical ways to safeguard ICH, Pawłowska-Mainville demonstrates that discursive frameworks for living heritage can assist communities in connecting youth with their ancestors and preserving their knowledge and practices for future generations. Stored in the Bones enriches discussions of treaty rights, land claims, and environmental and cultural policy.
Language:
English
Holds: