Moved to Action Program Update
Stephanie Danyluk
Photo — Visual Notes (excerpt) from the CMA & Métis Crossing Listening Circle, March 23, 2021.
We are nearing the the one-year mark of the release of the Moved to Action report with excitement. With positive reflections and new initiatives to share, the momentum of support for Indigenous self-determination in museums only continues to build.
To highlight some of the positive steps taken in the last year, nearly 10,000 readers have downloaded the report and around 3,000 have accessed our toolkits. We have presented at eight conferences and symposiums and hosted fourteen presentations and webinars. We have met with government officials to discuss support for repatriation and other Moved to Action recommendations and amplified Moved to Action through our 2023 National Conference. A particular highlight was hearing the CMA Reconciliation Council’s frank recounting of the journey to develop and publish the report as part of our conference.
As well, museums are referencing the Moved to Action report as part of their guidance material governance plans as they implement UNDRIP in their institutions. The successful uptake shows that museums and heritage organizations are moving towards concrete action to implement UNDRIP and support Indigenous self-determination.
One constant we hear as we work to support Indigenous self-determination in museums is that it centres one thing: relationships. The past yearof the Moved to Action program have involved buildingand repairing relationships in various forms, as well as learning how best to centre and nurture these.
We have clearly heard that the relationship between museums and Indigenous peoples balances on repatriation. Centering relationships has informed our role in supporting Indigenous-led repatriation advocacy efforts. On one end, we continue to meet with and hear from individual and community Indigenous rights holders, as well as Indigenous-led heritage organizations. On the other end, we are taking time to hear from museums about their repatriation initiatives and their review of collections and will soon be launching a data collection program in order to assess these developments. We are also taking concrete steps to support an Indigenous-led national framework for repatriation.
Photo — Visual Notes (excerpt) from the CMA & Saahlinda Naay (Haida Gwaii Museum) Listening Circle, February 8, 2021.
Our work continues in resource development, and two new Moved to Action resources are now available on the CMA website. The Small Museums Workbook is designed to provide guidance to support Indigenous self-determination where only one or a few are taking on this work. A new printable poster features all thirty Moved to Action Standards to enable easy consulting, printing and sharing.
We are currently in the process of developing a new resource: an UNDRIP implementation measurement tool to assist museums in assessing and measuring the work needed to implement the thirty Moved to Action Standards. This resource will be available later this fall.
The CMA Reconciliation Council continues their authoritative guidance of the Moved to Action program. You can read the CMA Council’s submission to Heritage Canada’s new National Museum Policy consultations, which recommends key steps to actualize Indigenous self-determination in the revised policy. As well, following the Council review of the nominations received under the Council’s call for nominees, we are pleased to welcome Nyla Klugie-Migwans as the newest Council member! Of course, we recognize that support for Indigenous self-determination must occur within the CMA as well. We are currently contemplating what changes must be made within our own governance structures to implement the Moved to Action standards and will continue to keep you updated on this process. Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to learn and consider what it means to be Moved to Action alongside the CMA over the past year, and we look forward to maintaining this momentum together in the years to come.
Stephanie Danyluk is the Reconciliation Manager with the CMA, supporting the work to respond to TRC #67 and promote Indigenous self-determination in museum and heritage spaces.
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