Summary
This project, which began in early 2002, enabled access to
and research of photographic collections from Upper St'át'imc
peoples and places. The primary source collections were from the Royal BC Museum, the
British Columbia Archives and the Lillooet Museum. In addition, community interviews were conducted with elders whose storytelling gave context and meaning to the photographs.
St'át'imc
language expert Marilyn Napoleon of the
Lillooet Tribal Council
worked with anthropologist Andrea Walsh to co-direct the project, and to focus the project efforts to foster further research in the community. Care was taken to ensure that the project was as accessible as possible to community contributions and involvement.
From the research,
the Upper St'át'imc Language, Culture and Education Society (USCLES) produced a web site, hosted by the Maltwood Museum and Gallery and entitled "Glimpses into Upper St'át'imc History Through Photographs." The web site content was modeled after the UBC Museum of Anthropology's
concept of "sourcebooks" and contains the visual history as well as contemporary photographs of Upper St'át'imc peoples and places. The website is maintained by USCLES and will continue to grow. The site is database driven and allows for the uploading of materials through a series of forms. These forms allow the St'àt'imc users to upload images, text from interviews, and related information dynamically. This means that users do not need any knowledge of html or website development to log on and add material to the site.
Community members received training in the use of images in social research as well as technical training in web page construction. Student researchers received the benefit of being able to participate in aboriginal community led research and having the opportunity to work with band members in their traditional territory. |
