Sturgeon Harpoon Knowledge Web wins Governor General’s History Award

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A collaboration between UBC's Beaty Biodiversity Museum and the  Musqueam First Nation has won the Governor General’s History Award.

Perspectives on Biodiversity – Sturgeon Harpoon Knowledge Web won the award for Excellence in Museums: History Alive.

The awards, which recognize exceptional efforts to further interest in Canadian history and heritage, were presented earlier this month by Governor General Julie Payette at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

The exhibit explores a complex web of knowledge centred around the creation of a 35-foot-long sturgeon harpoon — a modern piece made by Morgan Guerin, a Musqueam Knowledge Keeper, generations after the Musqueam ceased to fish for sturgeon.

Components of the harpoon carry cultural significance, and the museum used immersive 360 environments, visitor-activated audio and video, and touchable specimens to tell the story.

To the Musqueam, a sturgeon is more than a fish. "It’s an entry point to aspects of language, territory, health, technology and our society, and the respect and responsibilities that accompany them. It is part of a larger web of mutually dependent knowledge. When a link in this web is broken, it’s a loss to the whole web of knowledge and to our relationships.”

Read more at https://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/2020/01/27/sturgeon-harpoon-knowledge-web-wins-governor-generals-history-award/.

Source: Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC