People and Plants: reactivating ethnobotanical collections as material archives of indigenous ecological knowledge
Lead Research Organisation:
National Museums Scotland
Department Name: Global Arts, Cultures and Design
Abstract
Many anthropology collections contain objects often considered the domain of botanical gardens or natural history museums. These ethnobotanical collections can languish as museum professionals struggle with how to research and curate them. Considering the interplay between natural history and ethnography collections, this project builds on a re-emerging interest in indigenous ecology and the value of ethnobotanical collections as material archives of indigenous ecological knowledge.
Situating itself within current debates on decolonising the practice and method of museum work, this project aims to create a conversation between academics, researchers, museum professionals, botanists, and indigenous knowledge holders to establish the relevance of these collections in the present, and their potential applications for the future.
Three two-day workshops will be held during 2021/22 at The Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and National Museums Scotland. The project is a partnership between researchers at these three organisations. The project is also in partnership with the Museum Ethnographers Group (MEG) and the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA), both recognized subject specialist networks (SSN) within the museum sector. We will involve representatives of heritage and environmental organisations including the Museu Goeldi in Brazil, the National Museum of Australia, the Australian Tropical Herbarium, and NOMAD project in the UK which works with engaging Somali communities in heritage projects. The project will benefit from the connections of these SSNs, museums and community groups through their ability to shape and inform museum practice in relation to these interdisciplinary collections.
Situating itself within current debates on decolonising the practice and method of museum work, this project aims to create a conversation between academics, researchers, museum professionals, botanists, and indigenous knowledge holders to establish the relevance of these collections in the present, and their potential applications for the future.
Three two-day workshops will be held during 2021/22 at The Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and National Museums Scotland. The project is a partnership between researchers at these three organisations. The project is also in partnership with the Museum Ethnographers Group (MEG) and the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA), both recognized subject specialist networks (SSN) within the museum sector. We will involve representatives of heritage and environmental organisations including the Museu Goeldi in Brazil, the National Museum of Australia, the Australian Tropical Herbarium, and NOMAD project in the UK which works with engaging Somali communities in heritage projects. The project will benefit from the connections of these SSNs, museums and community groups through their ability to shape and inform museum practice in relation to these interdisciplinary collections.
| Description | Two participants from the first workshop - Abira Hussein and Kathleen Lawther - subsequently formed a project looking at the collection of 800 photographs taken by Diana Powell-Cotton in 1934-34 in Somali, held by the Powell-Cotton Museum. The project due on existing community knowledge of the collection and developed this research further to create an exhibition at the Barbican Centre, London 'Living Lineages: Bajuni Lives in the Powell-Cotton Photographic Archive' August 15th-August 30th 2022. Living Lineages was a selection of photographs from the 1930s of the community inhabiting the Bajuni islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean that runs from Kismayo on the southern coast of Somalia down to Kiwayuu Island in northern Kenya. The photographs were taken by budding anthropologist Diana Powell-Cotton in 1934-35, whose family's collection, the Powell-Cotton Museum, holds the archive of around 800 images taken in Somalia. Digitised in 2015, these images began to circulate through social networks, reaching Faiz Mohammad Shee, a member of the Somali Bajuni diaspora community in Kenya. Shee identified his great grandmother, two of her sisters, and many more of the people in the photographs, providing an opportunity to come to know their stories, lives and journeys, and rekindling interest in a written genealogy of the Bajuni Island. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants Programme: Trip to Australia to build networks and research Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi Indigenous Australian collections |
| Amount | £713 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Art Fund |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2022 |
| End | 11/2022 |
| Description | 'A Package Collection: Emile Clement and Western Australia', online recording of a talk from the second People and Plants workshop, hosted on the project YouTube channel. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Recording of the talk given by researchers Alison Clark and Alistair Paterson at the second project workshop on Indigenous Australian collections held at National Museums Scotland on November 7th 2022. 20 participants attended in person and Alison and Alistair's talk was broadcast online via the project YouTube channel to reach a wider audience. Their talk will be written up to form a chapter in the final project book. It is also sparked discussions about further work on the Clement collections from Indigenous communities in north west Western Australia and has led to an exhibition on spinifex which will be displayed in the Pilbara in 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tItqNhayVts&list=PLubxHkyR437GUCdvEdcic0JctqC7lo67A&index=2 |
| Description | 'Ethnobotany, Today and Tomorrow, Applications of Ethnobotany and Ethnoecology in a Changing World', online talk given at a one-off online workshop, hosted on the project YouTube channel. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On July 14th 2022 we held a 2 hour online workshop which broadly discussed the themes of the People and Plants project. PI Alison Clark and Co-I Mark Nesbitt led a discussion with artist James Tylor and ethnobotanist Nancy Turner. Prior to the workshop James' and Nancy' talks were released on the project YouTube channel. In this short talk Professor Nancy Turner reflected on ethnobotany's application to contemporary environmental issues through her work with First Nations communities in North America. The event had 80 attendees, grew interest in the People and Plants project- keeping the momentum going- and bridged the gap between workshop 1 and 2 which was extended due to covid-19. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfOe1lntxho&list=PLubxHkyR437HCjqsmsXOVHsAhs-NIncHy |
| Description | 'Listening and Learning: Reflections on the Second Workshop of the People and Plants Project' blog post on the Natural Sciences Collections Association blog. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This blog was written by one of the bursary holders from the Natural Sciences Collections Association for the second workshop. Each bursary holder was required to write a blog about the workshop they attended, either individually or collaboratively. The blog post has increased interest in the project and attendance at future workshops. The blog was one of the top ten blogs for audience engagement on the Natural Sciences Collections Association blog in 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://natsca.blog/2022/12/29/listening-and-learning-reflections-on-the-second-workshop-of-the-peop... |
| Description | 'Mai Yarta, Kaurna Country is a Living Museum Collection' online recording of a talk given at a one off online workshop hosted on the project YouTube channel. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On July 14th 2022 we held a 2 hour online workshop which broadly discussed the themes of the People and Plants project. PI Alison Clark and Co-I Mark Nesbitt led a discussion with artist James Tylor and ethnobotanist Nancy Turner. Prior to the workshop James' and Nancy' talks were released on the project YouTube channel. In this short talk artist and researcher James Tylor discussed the process of reviving, practicing and continuing Kaurna cultural plant knowledge and caring for the Kaurna environment in South Australia as a living museum collection. The event had 80 attendees, grew interest in the People and Plants project- keeping the momentum going- and bridged the gap between workshop 1 and 2 which was extended due to covid-19. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyxVoWOWC1w&list=PLubxHkyR437HCjqsmsXOVHsAhs-NIncHy&index=2 |
| Description | 'People and Plants Workshop 2: Western Australia', blog post on the Museum Ethnographers Group blog |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This blog was written by two of the bursary holders from the Museum Ethnographers Group for the second workshop. Each bursary holder was required to write a blog about the workshop they attended, either individually or collaboratively. The blog post has increased interest in the project and attendance at future workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | http://museumethnographersgroup.blogspot.com/2023/01/people-and-plants-workshop-western_3.html |
| Description | 'People and Plants at the Powell-Cotton Museum', blog post on the Museum Ethnographers Group blog. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This blog was written by two of the bursary holders from the Museum Ethnographers Group for the first workshop. Each bursary holder was required to write a blog about the workshop they attended, either individually or collaboratively. The blog post increased interest in the project and attendance at future workshops. It also shared the outcomes of the workshop amongst a wider audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://museumethnographersgroup.blogspot.com/2022/05/people-and-plants-at-powell-cotton.html |
| Description | 'Somali Plant Collections at the Powell-Cotton Museum', online recording of a talk from the second People and Plants workshop, hosted on the project YouTube channel. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Online talk given by PhD student Rosa Dyer as part of the first project workshop on Somali collections held at the Powell Cotton Museum on March 11th 2022. 20 participants attended in person and Rosa's talk was broadcast online to reach a wider audience. The research for the talk has led to further collaborations between the Powell Cotton Museum and the Somali diaspora in London, including a photography exhibition at the Barbican. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJIsSOQJ_m4&list=PLubxHkyR437GMszIxYJUeSu7WND_Cr8_e |
| Description | 'The Social History of Natural History: People and Plants' blog post on the Natural Sciences Collections Association blog. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This blog was written by two of the bursary holders from the Natural Sciences Collections Association for the second workshop. Each bursary holder was required to write a blog about the workshop they attended, either individually or collaboratively. The blog post increased interest in the project and attendance at future workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://natsca.blog/2022/06/16/the-social-history-of-natural-history-people-and-plants-workshop-one/ |
| Description | 'Traditional Knowledge and Biodiscovery in Queensland' online recording of a talk from the second People and Plants workshop, hosted on the project YouTube channel. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Online talk given by ethnobotanist Gerry Turpin based on his presentation given at the second project workshop on Indigenous Australian collections held at National Museums Scotland on November 7th 2022. 20 participants attended in person and Gerry's talk was broadcast online to reach a wider audience. Gerry's talk will be written up to form a chapter in the final project book. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NUly07UA0Q&list=PLubxHkyR437GUCdvEdcic0JctqC7lo67A&index=1 |
| Description | People and Plants workshop 1: Somali collections at the Powell-Cotton Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop 1 was held on 11 March 2022 at the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent. The workshop was run in partnership with the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent and the NOMAD project, which works with engaging Somali communities in heritage projects. 20 people attended and included museum professionals, anthropologists, ethnobotanists, gardeners, students and members of the Somali diaspora. Discussions considered the salience of ethnobotany specimens for diaspora communities today (particularly women) and how these narratives can be embedded into museum processes such as cataloguing, display and outreach. It used the Diana Powell-Cotton collection (1934-35) from Somalia as its case study, which includes a distinct subset of medicines for issues of women's and children's health. The workshop led to further research on the collections by the Museum and the Somali diaspora which resulted in an exhibition at the Barbican and plans for future collaboration between NOMAD and the University of Kent. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | People and Plants workshop 2: Ngarluma Yindjibarndi (Australia) collections at National Museums Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop 2 was held on November 7 2022 at National Museums Scotland. The workshop was run in partnership with the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation (NYFL), a Traditional Owner organisation based in Ieramagardu, Western Australia. The focus of the day was Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi biocultural collections held at National Museums Scotland and brought together by collector Emile Clement between 1896-1928. 20 people attended including anthropologists, ethnobotanists, museum professionals, students, artists and Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi cultural leaders. A key outcome of the discussion was that the most contextual, useful and respectful care of biocultural collections could only come out of a partnership between museums who care for the physical collection and the Indigenous people whose experience of working with these materials and holistic cultural knowledge can enable the Museum to think about these collections as part of a wider cultural framework rather than in disciplinary isolation. The workshop has generated greater interest in the Emile Clement collections by other Indigenous Australian groups and conversations about future research projects between the Museum and NYFL and other museum partners. As a result of the engagement with the collections at National Museums Scotland NYFL will be holding an exhibition about spinifex at one of their cultural sites in the Pilbara in Autumn 2023, this will be documented for the People and Plants project book. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | People and Plants workshop 3: Brazilian collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop 3 was held on 10 March 2023 at the Economic Botany collections at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This workshop was run in partnership with the Department of Cultures and Languages, Birkbeck, University of London and Museu Goeldi, Brazil. 20 people attended and included ethnobotanists, botanists, anthropologists, museum professionals, students, artists and a representative from the Tukano people in the northwest Amazon. The Richard Spruce collection (1849-1864) was be the basis of a case study for how culture, plants and environment in the northwest Amazon have changed over the last 160 years. Discussions were centred around the ecological value of ethnobotanical collections, including a focus on the interaction of western botanical nomenclature and traditional knowledge which forms the basis of an existing British Academy Knowledge Frontiers project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |