Jessica Wang
“Amazonia: The Rights of Nature” is an exhibit in the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. The Amazonian Exhibit displays objects such as art works, ceremonial decorations, clothing, and articles of daily use… by the Amazonian Indigenous groups. The exhibit challenges its visitors to reflect on the silence and marginalization Amazonians experienced from decades of colonisation by Western groups. Each object at the exhibit tells a story of the injustice actions Amazonian people have suffered.
According to the introduction of the exhibit, for thousands of years, the Amazonian Indigenous groups have lived in this largest rainforest on earth. The lives of Amazonian people are deeply enriched by their intimate connections with nature and other members of the community. However, their life was disrupted by the colonization of European settlers. In recent decades, extraction of natural resources by Western business groups also challenged the natural equilibrium. As a result, many Amazonians were displaced from their homeland, and suffered severe social issues (e.g. starvation). Historically, the injustice deeds done by Western groups deliberately silenced the Amazonian Indigenous groups. In other words, Amazonians were at risk of losing their culture and voice in the mainstream society.
This historical context can be reflected by six pieces of “feather works” (decorations) (MOA) displayed at the Exhibit, that were donated by the British Columbia Provincial Museum with no background information about their origins (MOA). These objects demonstrated the act of silencing performed by Western groups to Amazonian. In the article, “Of Things Said and Unsaid: Power Archival Silences, and Power in Silence”, Rodney G.S. Carter states that “archives are filled with voices” (216), and this also true about museums. Museums should be sources of information (MOA), in other words, they are filled with voices from different groups that speak to the general public about their history, culture, and values. Not knowing the origins “feels like a way of silencing the people who made and used them, off excluding them from the conversation” (MOA). The act of silencing is an exercise of power and domination. When the origins of the objects are unknown, it encourages the visitors to reflect on the Amazonians’ experience of discrimination from the domination of Western groups. The lives of Amazonians were ignored and overridden by the Western groups’ interests to facilitate economic expansion, and their voices were excluded from the mainstream society. As a result of this discrimination, some pieces of the Amazonian culture will be lost in the history (e.g. the origins of these feather works). However, in the Amazonian exhibit, the MOA acknowledged this silence, which is an act of empowering marginalized groups. When the silence is acknowledged, the silence itself actually delivers a message. It is a testimony for the marginalization and injustice actions experienced by Amazonian groups. Just as Carter argues in his article that “it is only the awareness of silence that we can begin to remedy it” (223). By pointing out the “silence”, the MOA is seeking for traces of the Amazonian history, and reminding the public to “hear” from the Amazonian groups.
The “Amazonian: The Rights of Nature” exhibit in Museum of Anthropology introduces the history of Amazonian Indigenous groups, and the discriminatory actions they have experienced from the Western settlers and business groups. The six feather works displayed in the exhibit reflects the forced silence of Amazonians in this historical context, and the museum’s effort to empower them by acknowledging this silence. It is crucial that we allow the marginalized groups to speak in the society so that their voice will not be lost in the history.
Works Cited
Carter, Rodney. “Of Things Said and Unsaid: Power, Archival Silences, and Power in Silence.” Archivaria [Online], 61 (2006): n. pag. Web. 17 Jan. 2018
Amazonia: The Rights of Nature. 10 Mar. 2017 – 18 Feb. 2018, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver