Simon Fraser University archaeology professor George Nicholas is joining international scholars at a Vancouver symposium May 2 to explore the commodification of Aboriginal culture.
“The abundance of souvenir totem poles and inukshuks in many shops locally often makes it difficult for tourists and locals alike to discern what is authentic and what is merely a cheap knock-off of native heritage,” says Nicholas. “But these commodified symbols of indigenous culture raise more than just the question of real versus fake.”
This Thursday’s event, Cultural Commodification, Indigenous Peoples & Self-Determination, is organized by the SFU-based Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) project, directed by Nicholas, and hosted at the University of B.C. Attendees will engage with issues of indigenous identity, property and sovereignty that are raised in relation to cultural commodification.
A flurry of debate about the commodification of First Nations and Inuit culture surrounded the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The event raised objections as to the way that elements of Aboriginal culture were being used to represent Vancouver and Canada to the world.
“This is a topic of great relevance in the Vancouver area where gift shops are filled with both First Nations products and copies of them, some made locally and some made overseas,” says Nicholas, director of the IPinCH project. “There is incredible confusion on the part of consumers and shopkeepers, as well as indigenous peoples and artists, as to what is appropriate, and what is not, to sell or purchase.”
Solen Roth, a UBC anthropologist and member of the IPinCH project team, has conducted research on these very issues. She says approximately 80 per cent of Aboriginal-themed merchandise sold in Vancouver’s tourism sites are made by non-Aboriginal companies, sometimes with, but too often without input from Aboriginal artists. While there has been a noticeable increase in Aboriginal-owned companies, Roth adds there is still room for more Aboriginal control and involvement in the market.
Simon Fraser University is Canada's top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.
Contact:
- George Nicholas, SFU Archaeology, 778.782.5709, nicholas@sfu.ca
- Dixon Tam, SFU media relations, 778.782.8742 (cell) or 604.417.0881 dixont@sfu.ca
