Mootookakio’ssin Distant Awareness: Digital Imaging, Remote Viewing and Blackfoot items in the collections of Marischal Museum and National Museums Scotland

‘New and changing technologies can work against the people or be harnessed and used in their own worldview’: Narcisse Blood. Mootookakio’ssin began with a circle gathering of Blackfoot Elders and researchers in July 2018 to discuss the digitization of Blackfoot items currently held in museum collections in the UK, and has since expanded to create a trans-Atlantic network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, museum professionals, digital specialists, anthropologists, and archaeologists, guided by Blackfoot ceremonial leaders. Knowledge Holders felt that virtual access utilising digital imaging techniques and spatial web technology would fit with their ongoing efforts to assist in processes of knowledge renewal and transmission. The name, Mootookakio’ssin, was given to the project by Dr. Leroy Little Bear. In English it means distant awareness. The name proved prescient as our collaboration moved from in person events and collection visits to virtual interactions over the pandemic period. Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, we were planning for members of our group to visit Marischal Museum at the University of Aberdeen, where staff have a long-standing connection with the Blackfoot nations, and the National Museums Collection Centre (NMCC) in Edinburgh, which cares for Blackfoot items never before visited by Blackfoot people. Once it became clear that this visit would not be happening, a new research question emerged: how might we design a remote viewing experience to support the cultural revitalization for Indigenous communities when in-person access is not an option? In this paper we bring our interdisciplinary perspectives to bear on the practicalities, benefits and possibilities of remote viewing. Drawing on our virtual visits to Marischal Museum and NMCC we illustrate how interdisciplinary learning can be used as a methodology to interrogate complex problems and advocate for a greater understanding of the usage and impact of digital imaging practices across disciplines

Concepts have teeth Blackfoot objects at National Museums Scotland

A project exploring Blackfoot quillwork in Scottish museums recently led a remote visit to explore and scan Blackfoot collections held in our collections. Members of the project team tell us about this visit and how digital imaging techniques are allowing for closer engagements with cultural heritage

Mootookakio’ssin: [Distant Awareness] Blackfoot Digital Project Presentation

Mootookakio’ssin uses digital imagery to record historical Blackfoot objects in great detail in an effort to connect people living on traditional Blackfoot territory (southern Alberta, Canada) with objects housed in museum collections in Britain. The project’s title, Mootookakio’ssin, was given by Elder Leroy Little Bear and translates to “distant awareness.” Elders from the four Blackfoot tribes, Kainai, Piikani, Siksika and Amskapipiikani, are directing the project and selecting the museum objects. The digital imagery belongs to the Blackfoot people and will be accessed online through the Blackfoot Digital Library at the U of L. The project is funded by a grant from the New Frontiers in Research Fund, administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the sister project in the UK funded by an AHRC networking grant: Concepts Have Teeth: Digital Imaging and Blackfoot material culture in UK museums. Presenters include Danielle Heavy Head, Christine Clark, Melissa Shouting, Louisa Minkin and Josephine Mills

I’taamohkanoohsin (everyone comes together): (Re)connecting Indigenous people experiencing homelessness and addiction to their Blackfoot ways of knowing.

Addiction and homelessness are closely related outcomes for many Indigenous Canadians who live with extensive intergenerational trauma caused by residential school and the 60s Scoop. In recent years, the rise of opioid addiction along with related overdoses and mortalities in many parts of Canada has led to what is being called an opioid crisis. (Re)connection to Indigenous ways of knowing and practices are frequently seen as a path to healing; therefore, an innovative grassroots program was developed recently in a southern Alberta city to address addictions and homelessness within a largely Blackfoot population. The program increased access to traditional cultural resources and activities in a visible, downtown location to a population who are among the most marginalized in society. A Two-Eyed Seeing framework was used perform a program evaluation and analyze participant and key informant interviews. The results indicated that attendance connected people with their spirits, inspiring strength and hope for the future, and ameliorated spiritual homelessness. The program formed a safe space where relationships were strengthened, people felt respected, and meaningful activity away from substances was available