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Heather George: Share Difficult Truths, Support Cultural Vibrancy
The SASAH Speakers' Series presents: Heather George, "Sharing Difficult Truths and Supporting Cultural Vibrancy at the Site of the Longest Running Residential School in Canada."
Museology is a fundamentally colonial discipline, however since 1972 Woodland Cultural Centre has been engaging in story-telling, caring for belongings and asserting Indigenous sovereignty. Behind every exhibition, program and policy we seek to undo the harms of Residential School and demonstrate the continuity and vibrancy of our nations.
Heather George, (Kanienʼkehá:ka, Akwesasne and Euro-Canadian) is the Executive Director and Chief Curator at Woodland Cultural Centre. As a UWO alumni from the Public History M.A. Program she brings two decades of community based, Indigenous practices to her work. As a mother, beader, gardener and curator Heather's PhD research through University of Waterloo is examining the historical and philosophical underpinnings of contemporary museum practice specifically grounded in Haudenosaunee (Six Nations / Iroquois) philosophies. She seeks to challenge the colonial basis of cultural preservation methods and museology and better understand how we engage with material culture to heal trauma and engage in cross-cultural dialogues. In 2022 Heather served as the President of the Candain Museums Association supporting the release of the Moved to Action Report responding to TRC #67 and as a current board member of the Indigenous Heritage Circle she advocates for better legal and funding mechanisms to support the implementation of UNDRIP in the museum sector.
Heather George is a guest of Professor Sarah Bassnett's second-year SASAH course, "Photography and Social Justice."
The annual, interdisciplinary SASAH Speakers' Series invites nationally and internationally renowned leaders across the arts and humanities to discuss leading topics of concern.