Round table: Art as a means of reappropriating indigenous cultural assets

MC Snow is a multidisciplinary Kanien’kehà:ka artist living in Kahnawá:ke. MC is a graduate of the University of Ottawa fine arts department (BFA). He has been working and exhibiting in Canada and the United States since the 1990s. His mostly sculptural work combines traditional materials and techniques. While reflecting contemporary concerns, his work contributes to preserving traditional artistic value and defending Kanien’kehà:ka cultural identity.

In 2021, MC curated the exhibition Ka’shatsténhsera presented at the Contemporary Native Art Biennial. In 2023, he took part in the Biennale Internationnele Métiers d’Arts et Création in Paris, showcasing Indigenous artists and creators from Quebec. His many ongoing projects include designing street furniture by producing 10 bronze spheres for the City of Montreal’s Rue Peel project, which will officially launch in spring 2024.

Roland Tremblay is a prehistoric archaeologist with 35 years’ experience as a project manager or participant in a variety of projects. He has expertise in various regional and chronological contexts, both in the field and in the laboratory. His fields of interest include the Iroquoian occupation of the St. Lawrence Valley and the transformation of Indigenous material culture through contact with European society.

He is the author of several publications, including Les Iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent, peuple du maïs, published by Éditions de l’Homme in 2006. He has always understood the importance of collaborating with Indigenous communities affected by archaeological projects, in all necessary respects, from material logistics to the most symbolic aspects. Between 2016 and 2019, he participated in the excavation of a section of the Dawson site, at the corner of Sherbrooke and Peel streets, a village site dating from the 16^th century, whose rediscovery prompted a development collaboration with the Kahnawà:ke community.

Jonathan Lainey joined the McCord Museum in 2020. He studied anthropology and Indigenous studies and holds a master’s degree in history from Université Laval. His research interests include the social, political and cultural history of the Indigenous Peoples of Quebec and Canada as well as the history of objects and collections over time, particularly wampum belts. He has served as Curator, First Peoples, at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau as well as Archivist, Indigenous Archives, at Library and Archives Canada.

He has published two books, helped develop exhibitions, and written numerous articles, publications and research reports. He is also a sought-after speaker who has appeared not only in Canada, but also in the Netherlands, Japan and Australia at international conferences.