Miscellaneous Projects
My work and previous internships have given me the opportunity to contribute to a number of different projects. Aside from performing treatments, I have experience in packing for storage and transport, addressing and mitigating environmental issues, conducting maintenance and testing on large-scale outdoor works, field conservation, and both literature and scientific research.
Top: Cedar bark headdress requested for loan after treatment and packing.
Bottom: Cedar bark headdress and other pieces alongside Dawson's work at the Museum of Campbell River.
Museum of Anthropology
Loan Preparation
During my internship at the Museum of Anthropology, I helped prepare an outgoing loan for Kwakwaka'wakw artist and Hereditary Chief G̱ixkastallasame-gi (Cecil Dawson), whose exhibit (Cecil Dawson: Standing in the Gap) is being hosted at the Museum at Campbell River. The pieces requested included headdresses, feast dishes, and masks that had been parts of his family. I helped deinstall the requested pieces from display and storage, assessed their condition and completed loan condition reports for them, performed treatment on one of the pieces, assisted in packing for transport, and accompanied the pieces to the receiving institution on Vancouver Island. Once at the Museum of Campbell River, I participated in discussions between Dawson and museum staff about exhibit planning and, on a wider scale, collaborations between Indigenous community members and museums in heritage preservation. I returned to Campbell River in March 2022 to help deliver additional loan objects, assist in installation, and attend the exhibit's opening ceremonies.
MuseumPros
Mould Remediation
At MuseumPros, I work as a conservation technician focusing on mould abatement. I process over 30 artifacts a week, and my duties include unpacking objects, documenting condition and treatments through reports and photographs, surface-cleaning and other minor treatments as necessary, packing for storage and transport, and updating records. This position has helped me develop familiarity with a wide range of objects and materials. Over the next year and a half, over 14000 objects will be processed and treated.
Glass bottles from the museum's collection after condition assessment and mould abatement.
Museum of Anthropology
Pole Maintenance
MOA's annual outdoor works maintenance program focuses on their poles and large carvings. During my internship in the summer of 2021, I participated in this project by:
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Assessing and documenting the condition of the poles through reports, photographs, and summaries of work;
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Assisting in clearing organic growth from the base of the poles and spraying several works with a borate-based insecticide as needed;
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Cleaning a pair of wooden Musqueam house posts;
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Participating in resistograph testing of poles to determine strength and extent of rot; and
In addition to working on large-scale wooden works, I also assisted in the cleaning and preservation of a stone, metal, and glass fountain.
Top: Resistograph testing on an outdoor pole.
Center: Resistograph outputs show fluctuating wood density, as is visible through comparison with the exposed base of an outdoor pole.
Bottom: Cleaning and annual maintenance of Susan Point's Musqueam House Posts.
Corral Redondo Archaeologic Project
Archaeological Conservation
I participated in the Corral Redondo Archaeological Project for two field seasons (2018 and 2019). During the first year, I enrolled as a student in the archaeological conservation module. I was invited back for the second season as a conservation intern and teaching assistant. My work focused on conducting condition survey assessments on the local museum's collection, assisting professors and students in conservation lessons and fieldwork, collecting student reports and database entries, and performing treatments on ceramics, textiles, and other materials as necessary. I also set up and managed the lab at the beginning of the second field season while my supervising conservator was occupied at another project.
Top: Field work documenting petroglyphs near Iquipi, Peru.
Bottom: Treatment on an archaeological textile, involving tape removal, humidification and flattening, and tear repair.
Queen's University
Graduating Research Project
My graduating research project at Queen's University focused on collaboration with Indigenous communities in scientific analysis of their material heritage. I looked at how conservation theory and guiding documents (ex. codes of ethics) as well as wider policy (ex. UNDRIP and Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action) inform an institution's approach to collaborative research with source communities in conservation.
To understand how practical collaboration is done at various institutions, I interviewed heritage professionals from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous institutions. This allowed me to identify commonly-faced challenges and some promising strategies for a more collaborative, respectful future in the field of conservation.