book chapter

Prologue: the repatriation of the Nuxalk Echo mask

Switchbacks : art, ownership, and Nuxalk national identity, by Jennifer Kramer • Vancouver • Published In 2006 • Pages: ix-xiv

By: Kramer, Jennifer.

Abstract
In October 1995 a special ceremonial object known as the Nuxalk Echo Mask was sold by an elder of the tribe to a non-Native art dealer from Victoria. This mask, which was believed to be over 140 years old, was passed down through the generations, gaining an incredibly complicated genealogy in the passing. This mask formed an important part of the Nuxalk cultural heritage and before it could be retrieved from the buyers, many questions had to be resolved regarding the determination of the ownership of cultural objects, the Nuxalk use of the concept of 'cultural heritage' as proof of their nationhood, the significance of Nuxalk entanglements within Canadian law and the Western art market, the relationship between selling Nuxalk art, and the creation of contemporary Nuxalk identity, and the Nuxalk's strategic use of accusations of cultural appropriation. Kramer discusses the anxiety and ambivalences manifested by the Nuxalk as they negotiated interactions with outsiders, until eventually the mask was returned.
Subjects
Visual arts
Buying and selling
External trade
Property in movables
Government regulation
culture
Nuxalk
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
North America
Sub Region
Northwest Coast and California
Document Type
book chapter
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle; 2010
Field Date
1995
Coverage Date
1995-1998
Coverage Place
British Columbia, Canada
Notes
Jennifer Kramer
for bibliographical references see document 10: Kramer
LCCN
2006445100
LCSH
Bella Coola Indians