Abstract
The Historical Museum of Hokkaido (HMH) has adopted a permanent exhibition in which exhibits are presented in chronological order since 1992, the last time the exhibition was completely updated to reflect social changes and the results of research. Regarding special exhibitions, taking the theme of Ainu culture as an example, HMH generally exhibits numerous historical materials in keeping with the character of a historical museum, while maintaining a comprehensive cultural image that considers the importance of recent research results from the perspective of a museum, not the respective experience of individuals.
Of late, the above-mentioned chronological organization of exhibits and exhibitions featuring traditional historical and cultural materials have been increasingly condemned, primarily in North America, for encouraging the reproduction of inherent cultural assets without conveying the status quo of indigenous peoples. Although, we recognize the difficulties for people with different memories to share history and/or culture, HMH has attempted to overcome such criticism, inspired by the experience of the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM), which founded the Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture, and the exchanges that took place between staff members of the HMH and RAM.
In April 2005, HMH hosted a special exhibition titled “Russian Ethnological Museum's Exhibition of Ainu Materials: People in the Island Country Seen from Russia” under the joint auspices of the Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture (FRPAC). The exhibition was characterized by the returning home of Ainu materials that are owned by the Russian Ethnological Museum, which were collected in the early 20th century. Six Ainu craftworkers were given the roles of planning officers and were heavily involved from the initial stage of preparations. They were responsible for the substance of the event, ranging from the selection of exhibits to drafting exhibition titles and to writing the description of materials. While the exhibition realized cooperation with indigenous peoples, as is the case in North America, it left room for improvement: the title of the exhibition that was agreed to in a Planning Committee meeting was changed immediately before the exhibition's opening due to a request from the lender and other political reasons; the intention of the indigenous people was also not fully reflected in all of the exhibition concepts. It is not preferable for us to simply follow in the footsteps of North America when it comes to exhibitions concerning indigenous peoples. We are committed to finding the best way forward for exhibitions best suited for Hokkaido and Japan by mulling over the historical background unique to the region and the current state of cooperation with indigenous communities.
