Abstract

Debate erupted in the Canadian museum world of the mid-1980s in response to a contentious exhibition of Aboriginal art and artefacts, The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada's First Peoples (1988), presented by the Glenbow Museum in Calgary. In order to address some of the issues circulating around the representation of Aboriginal peoples within museums in Canada, the Canadian Museums Association and the Assembly of First Nations jointly organized the Task Force on Museums and First Peoples. The Task Force consisted of arts professionals and scholars, Native and non-Native, along with concerned community members and elders. The group published a report, Turning the Page: Forging New Partnerships Between Museums and First Peoples (1992), which provided guidelines for better understanding between museums and Aboriginal Canadians. This thesis examines the history and development of the Task Force on Museums and First Peoples, as well as an in-depth look at its report and recommendations. I consider the McCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal as a case study for the implementation of the Task Force recommendations. It is my premise throughout this thesis that the Task Force report has influenced museum practices across Canada and that, more than a decade after the appearance of the report, museums, scholars, and Aboriginal communities are continually striving to cooperate and compromise to develop an acceptable framework for the presentation of Aboriginal arts, cultures, and histories in Canadian museums.