Switchbacks : art, ownership, and Nuxalk national identity

Book

Switchbacks : art, ownership, and Nuxalk national identity / Jennifer Kramer.

Summary:

"Jennifer Kramer undertook participant observation at Nuxalk artists' studios, in the Nuxalk-run band school's cultural education classes, and during the everyday activities of Nuxalk in their homes. She charts the fluid character of tangible material culture (such as masks and othe regalia) and intangible material culture (such as songs and dances) as they moved in and out of the cultural education curriculum, the Western art market, and the Western legal system. In addition, Kramer analyzes the ambivalent reactions of the Nuxalk to ownership, appropriation, and repatriation of their culture. The Nuxalk oscillate between essential stances, a process Kramer likens to "switchbacks" on a mountain road. Through these recurrent movements they create, recreate, and validate contemporary Nuxalk identity."--Jacket.

Record details

ISBN: 0774812273
ISBN: 9780774812276
ISBN: 9780774812283
ISBN: 0774812281
Physical Description: xiv, 152 pages : maps ; 24 cm
Publisher: Vancouver : UBC Press, ©2006.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (pages 137-146) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Introduction -- The history of Bella Coola: a history of theft -- "Selling out" or "buying in"? Identity politics and art objectification in Bella Coola -- Privileged knowledge versus public education: tensions at Acwsalcta, the Nuxalk Nation "place of learning" -- Physical and figurative repatriation: case studies of the Nuxalk echo mask and the Nuxalk sun mask -- Theft inside and out: the making of a theory -- Conclusions: articulating Nuxalk national identity.