Curator encourages the rewriting of history

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Careers & Training

When asked why she decided to study anthropology, Pam Brown replies "to learn more about my own and other cultures."

A member of the Heilstuk Nation, Brown was born in Waglisa (Bella Bella) on the coast of British Columbia. She attended school in Vancouver but has maintained strong links with her home.

Brown went on to complete both her bachelor and master of arts degrees in anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

She was recently appointed Curator of Ethnology and Media at the U.B.C. Museum of Anthropology (MOA), becoming the Museum's First Native curator.

While an undergraduate student, Brown did an internship at MOA as part of her Museum Studies course. She also worked for four summers as a museum assistant for Bill McLennan, the designer at MOA. During this time she developed a source book on the history of First Nations in the fishing industry in British Columbia.

Later, as part of her M.A. thesis, Brown designed and produced an exhibit entitled Cannery Days: A Chapter In The Lives Of The Heiltsuk, which is currently on tour in the Lower Mainland.

Part of Brown's job involves developing low-cost, low-tech ways of recording First Nation culture, traditions, and concerns.

She feels that source books-compilations of oral testimony, photographs, library research, illustrations, and maps ? are an excellent way of presenting information since they "allow people to speak for themselves, thereby putting a human face on First Nations people."

Brown also works one-on-one with Native students, some of whom will be employed by museums and cultural centres in their communities. Most are graduates of the Museum's highly respected Native Youth Program (NYP).

The NYP is the first of its kind in North America, and will be beginning its 18th year at the museum in 1996.

This seven-week summer offering allows students to explore different aspect of British Columbia's coastal First Nations cultures, while giving them hands-on experience in using the museum's collections and resources.

People who work in First Nations cultural centres and museums often have to be "jacks of all trades", with responsibilities ranging from maintaining libraries to interviewing Elders and doing treaty research. As a result, the NYP attempts to involve participants in a wide variety of learning situations.

Students in the 1995 NYP made over 125 slide presentations to visitors, hosted First Nations groups and guest speakers, while somehow finding time to make study trips to Alert Bay and Campbell River. They also assembled a source book about themselves and the history of the program.

Brown's assistant, Jennifer Dysart is a member of the Cree Nation and a recent graduate of the Native Youth Program. Dysart grew up in Vancouver's suburbs where she had little contract with other Native people. She claims that the NYP reconnected her to her Native self.

"After taking the program, I knew exactly what I wanted to do ? study anthropology."

Anthropology can be a challenging field for First Nations people, said Brown. She attributes her success at university to ongoing family and community support and to maintaining her cultural identity.

Brown advises Native students in anthropology "to not be afraid of voicing their concerns and frustrations about the way First Nations are represented in anthropological literature, and to begin rewriting their own histories from their own perspectives."