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Testimony by Diane Blacksmith
Testimony by Maude Connolly
Testimony by Johanne Lachapelle
Testimony by Wanda Julian
Testimony by Annette Nolett
Testimony by Kim Gabriel
Testimony by Lise Bibeau
Testimony by Élisabeth KaineThe Road Travelled
As additional information, we suggest a variety of texts included in the Fall issue of Petit journal de l'Alliance. Pages 3 to 14 provide updates on the artisans presented here.
Follow this link to the original document (in French): Source
THE ROAD TRAVELLED
Élisabeth Kaine and Élise Dubuc
Petit journal de l'Alliance, Vol. 1, no. 6, Fall 2008, p.2
Le Chemin parcouru (The Road Travelled) is an adventure, a story of meetings, projects, and alliances bringing together the Ilnu community of Mashteuiatsh, the Innu community of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, the Abenaki community of Odanak, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, and Université de Montréal. This alliance project is based upon a relationship of trust which was built during Material Culture and Design project activities: First Nations Culture and Community Development (2003-2008), Community-University Research Alliances (CURA) funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
This project involves First Nations peoples, sustainable development, culture, identity, and intercultural relations. Its three main objectives are creative development, community involvement in the taking charge of local development, and valorization of Amerindian culture among others. Project activities promote the implementation of a cultural, social, and economic dynamic which is entrenched in identity-based values and likely to encourage long-term development. Two experimental facets of this research involve community action: the Territorial Memories/Innu utinniun group and the Guarani Culture Valorization Project explore ways through which members of a community can define and express their own cultural identity. This process varies from the common method whereby cultural experts, most often from outside the community, impose their own definition on the population. In the proposed method, the community members are experts in their own right, builders, decision-makers, and beneficiaries of their own work.
The members of the three partner communities have worked towards the valorization and transmission of their culture via the realization of different projects we have jointly undertaken. Our work consists in developing methods which will help them create their own ways to achieve these goals. In this light, we would like to honour their work by dedicating the latest edition of Petits Journaux de l'Alliance to the personal creative process experienced by each artisan during the workshops, their exploration of creative avenues away from the beaten path.
This research alliance between universities and First Nations communities is performed through a mutual learning of places, practices, and understanding. The professional relationships and mutual respect developed has undeniably also created friendship bonds. We sincerely hope this is the beginning of a new relationship which will open many doors