Good intentions and the public good : Intangible cultural heritage in a Canadian national museum

For more than one hundred years Canada’s national museum of human history, called, successively, the National Museum of Canada, the National Museum of Man, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and, most recently, the Canadian Museum of History, has documented and assembled a record of intangible cultural heritage relating to various cultural groups. Originally collected and currently preserved under legislative mandates resting on broad assumptions about the public interest, this material includes a substantial body of narrative, song and information relating to both past and contemporary cultural practice of societies indigenous to Canada. This paper explores the issues for concepts of nationhood, knowledge and the public interest raised by the contractual agreements, legislation on topics ranging from copyright to family law, treaty negotiations between Aboriginal people and the Government of Canada, and consultation concerning different cultural definitions of property and the sacred that affect day-to-day access to and use of Aboriginal intangible heritage in the museum. Finally, the paper explores potential issues for the continuation of this work raised by the museum’s narrowing of focus and mandate as it changes from the Canadian Museum of Civilization to the Canadian Museum of History.Depuis plus d’un siècle, le musée national canadien d’histoire humaine, qui s’est appelé successivement le Musée national du Canada, le Musée national de l’Homme, le Musée canadien des civilisations et, depuis peu, le Musée canadien de l’histoire, a documenté et rassemblé des archives de patrimoine culturel immatériel en lien avec différents groupes culturels. À l’origine recueilli puis conservé en fonction de mandats législatifs reposant sur de larges principes relatifs à l’intérêt public, ce matériel comprend un ensemble considérable de récits, de chansons et d’informations liés aux pratiques culturelles, à la fois passées et présentes, des sociétés autochtones du Canada. Cet article envisage les problèmes des concepts de nation, de savoir et d’intérêt public tels qu’ils se posent dans les accords contractuels, la législation sur des sujets allant du droit de propriété intellectuelle au droit de la famille, les négociations de traités entre les Peuples autochtones et le gouvernement du Canada, et la consultation au sujet de différentes définitions culturelles de la propriété et du sacré qui affectent l’accès au patrimoine immatériel autochtone et son usage quotidien au musée. Enfin, cet article envisage les problèmes qui pourraient se poser dans la poursuite de ce travail en raison de la réduction de la portée et du mandat du musée au moment où, de Musée canadien des civilisations, il devient Musée canadien de l’histoire

Folk history in a small Canadian Community

This is a study of folk history in Yale, British Columbia, a small community with a population that is part of western Canadian society. Folk history, which encompasses those aspects of a society's past which are socially and intellectually important to its members, and the organization and social use of knowledge of the past within the society, has been studied in some non-literate societies, but never in a literate society. In carrying out this study I have concentrated on elucidating the features of Yale's past considered significant by residents of Yale, the characteristics and qualifications of custodians of knowledge of the past, and the social contexts of transmission of such knowledge. In societies without writing, history is closely integrated with the identity of the social group. Custodians of knowledge of the past are instructed formally or informally, and exercise their knowledge by virtue of this instruction and of other characteristics, such as position in the social structure or relatively advanced age. History in such societies is highly political in content and function. The principal vehicle for oral transmission of knowledge of the past in literate societies has been assumed to be the legend but the characteristics of custodians of knowledge and the social contexts of transmission have not been investigated. Orally transmitted knowledge of history in Yale incorporates some of the characteristics of history in non-literate societies and some of the characteristics of North American folklore, but differs from both in important ways. The legend, in the sense of a narrative which is believed and has a knowable historic setting exists, at least ideally, among the genres of folklore to be found in Yale. However, I have not concentrated on a description or analysis of this or other genres. The people of Yale are highly conscious of the importance of the community's history and history is closely related to the identity of the community. There are custodians of knowledge of history, old-timers, who as a rule have not been instructed formally by previous old-timers, but are expected to have knowledge and to dispense it by virtue of characteristics such as advanced age, birth in Yale, long residence in the community and the possession of artifacts and books. There are three types of people who participate in Yale's folk history: outsiders who come to Yale with an amateur or professional interest in the past, and constitute the principal audiences for old-timers' knowledge, the old-timers, and other people of Yale, whose participation in history consists of spontaneous participation in community festivals in which historical themes are interpreted freely, and in being aware of landmarks and artifacts with historic significance. There is no public occasion during which old-timers transmit their knowledge of the past to other residents of Yale. Generally the knowledge of old-timers is not fully known to the people of Yale and is formally transmitted only to outsiders, although old-timers may be consulted by Yale people if specific need arises, and informal transmission of knowledge occurs in the course of work, travel and the meetings of friends and acquaintances at community festivals. Story-telling sessions are comparatively rare. History in Yale is not political in content or in function. Old-timers do not exercise political power by virtue of their status as old-timers and political activity is based on different information; politically active people are generally persons who are not old-timers. Formal written history is a part of the culture of the people of Yale, and they are aware of it. Formal histories of Yale can be based on fairly rich documentation, especially for several specific periods of intense activity during the nineteenth century. The folk history of the community overlaps to some extent with formal history, especially with regard to the themes of Yale's development and decline. Books, both scholarly and popular publications, are seen as sources or potential sources of knowledge by old-timers, but they are more frequently used as symbols of knowledge. The accumulated records on which written history is based are not accessible to most Yale people, and folk history is an activity separate from formal history.Arts, Faculty ofAnthropology, Department ofGraduat

European muscle MRI study in limb girdle muscular dystrophy type R1/2A (LGMDR1/LGMD2A).

BACKGROUND Limb girdle muscular dystrophy type R1/2A (LGMDR1/LGMD2A) is a progressive myopathy caused by deficiency of calpain 3, a calcium-dependent cysteine protease of skeletal muscle, and it represents the most frequent type of LGMD worldwide. In the last few years, muscle magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a tool for identifying patterns of muscular involvement in genetic disorders and as a biomarker of disease progression in muscle diseases. In this study, 57 molecularly confirmed LGMDR1 patients from a European cohort (age range 7-78 years) underwent muscle MRI and a global evaluation of functional status (Gardner-Medwin and Walton score and ability to raise the arms). RESULTS We confirmed a specific pattern of fatty substitution involving predominantly the hip adductors and hamstrings in lower limbs. Spine extensors were more severely affected than spine rotators, in agreement with higher incidence of lordosis than scoliosis in LGMDR1. Hierarchical clustering of lower limb MRI scores showed that involvement of anterior thigh muscles discriminates between classes of disease progression. Severity of muscle fatty substitution was significantly correlated with CAPN3 mutations: in particular, patients with no or one "null" alleles showed a milder involvement, compared to patients with two null alleles (i.e., predicting absence of calpain-3 protein). Expectedly, fat infiltration scores strongly correlated with functional measures. The "pseudocollagen" sign (central areas of sparing in some muscle) was associated with longer and more severe disease course. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that skeletal muscle MRI represents a useful tool in the diagnostic workup and clinical management of LGMDR1