Naamiwan's Drum : The Story of a Contested Repatriation of Anishinaabe Artefacts

__Naamiwan’s Drum__ follows the story of a famous Ojibwe medicine man, his gifted grandson, and remarkable water drum. The book contains a powerful Anishinaabe interpretive perspective on repatriation and on anthropology itself.

Naamiwan’s Drum follows the story of a famous Ojibwe medicine man, his gifted grandson, and remarkable water drum. This drum, and forty other artefacts, were given away by a Canadian museum to an American Anishinaabe group that had no family or community connections to the collection. Many years passed before the drum was returned to the family and only about half of the artefacts were ever returned to the museum.

Maureen Matthews takes us through this astonishing set of events from multiple perspectives, exploring community and museum viewpoints, visiting the ceremonial group leader in Wisconsin, and finally looking back from the point of view of the drum. The book contains a powerful Anishinaabe interpretive perspective on repatriation and on anthropology itself. Containing fourteen beautiful colour illustrations, Naamiwan’s Drum is a compelling account of repatriation as well as a cautionary tale for museum professionals.

Contents 5 Figures 7 Acknowledgments 9 Naamiwan’S Drum 13 1.Introduction 15 2. Omishoosh A Visit To The Museum 40 3. Animacy Linguistic Considerations 61 4. Dewe’Igan Repatriation 92 5. Personhood Wiikaan And Artefact 115 6. Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge Ojibwe Advocacy And Revitalization 151 7. Repatriation Cultural Rights And The Construction Of Meaning 165 8. Nelson Owen Mitigwakik Homecoming 195 9. Agency And Artefacts New Theoretical Approaches 210 10. Repatriating Agency An Agency Analysis Of Repatriation 233 Appendix A: Timeline 261 Appendix B: Ojibwe Language Notes 265 Appendix C: Anishinaabemowin Glossary 279 Notes 287 References 299 Index 319 "Maureen Matthews takes us through this astonishing set of events from multiple perspectives, exploring community and museum viewpoints, visiting the ceremonial group leader in Wisconsin, and finally looking back from the point of view of the drum. The book contains a powerful Anishinaabe interpretive perspective on repatriation and on anthropology itself. Containing fourteen beautiful colour illustrations, Naamiwan's Drum is a compelling account of repatriation as well as a cautionary tale for museum professionals."-- Provided by publisher "Naamiwan's Drum follows the story of a famous Ojibwe medicine man, his gifted grandson, and remarkable water drum. This drum, and forty other artefacts, were given away by a Canadian museum to an American Anishinaabe group that had no family or community connections to the collection. Many years passed before the drum was returned to the family and only half of the artefacts were ever returned to the museum."-- Provided by publisher