Join leading artists, curators and scholars Dr. Lucy Bell, Dr. Mimi Gellman and Dr. Marianne Nicolson, with moderation by Daina Warren, ECU Director of Indigenous Initiatives, as they consider Indigenous collections in relation to the history of collecting in BC, and the ways in which the collecting of Indigenous belongings has been foundational to the history of building collections here, both public and private.

The panel is intended as a forum to look at these histories, complexities and the futures both in terms of historical belongings and of contemporary artworks, in the context of issues of repatriation as well as moving beyond colonial frameworks for collecting.

This takes place on the occasion of the exhibition Christos Dikeakos: The Collectors, the second show in our 10th anniversary celebration and features portraits of private collectors, along with selected artists and museums, with their collections.

Free to attend. Please RSVP as space is limited.

Christos Dikeakos, Raven’s Tail, 2014. Archival pigment inks printed on Epson lustre paper; 60 x 70 inches; Collection of Vancouver Art Gallery, Gift of the Artist

Resources

To learn more about Indigenous approaches to collecting, see the compiled resources from our panelists below:

Papers

• New National Museum Policy - Position Paper, Prepared by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council’s Heritage Program and the British Columbia Museums Association, April 30, 2024

• Caring for Sacred and Culturally Sensitive Objects

• More than Giving Back: Repatriation Toolkit, Canadian Museums Toolkit

Films 

• Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii by Kevin McMahon

Books

• Potential History, Unlearning Imperialism, by Ariella Aïsha Azoulay

• Whose Property? Whose Culture? The Ethics of Collecting Cultural Property, Edited by Phyllis Mauch Messenger

• Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage, A Canadian Obligation, By Marie Battiste and James (Sa’ke’j) Youngblood Henderson

• Museum Pieces, Toward the Indigenization of Canadian Museums, by Ruth B. Phillips

• Bell, L. 2025. Tla Yahda: Haida Museology Makes Things Right. SFU

• From Stealing to Healing: Repatriation and B.C. First Nations

• Indigenous Repatriation Handbook; Jisgang Nika Collison, Dr. Sdahl Ḵ’awaas Lucy Bell, Lou-ann Neel