A new tool for preserving Indigenous cultural heritages

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) refers to community-based practices, traditions, and customs that are inherited and passed down through generations. In Stored in the Bones, Agnieszka Pawłowska-Mainville details her work with Anishinaabeg and Inninuwag harvesters, showcasing their cultural heritage and providing a new discourse for the promotion and transmission of Indigenous knowledge.

The book records the lived experiences of the akiwenziyag and kitayatisuk, “men of the land” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwe and Inninumowin/Cree, respectively. These men shared their dibaajimowinan and achimowinak (life stories)—from putting down tobacco to tending traplines—with Pawłowska-Mainville during her fifteen years of research in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. ICH recognition also played an important role in Pawłowska-Mainville's experiences with the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission regarding the impacts of hydro development and the Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.

Stored in the Bones enriches discussions of treaty rights, land claims, and environmental and cultural policy. Presenting practical ways to safeguard ICH and an international framework meant to advance community interests in dealings with provincial or federal governments, the study offers a pathway for Indigenous peoples to document knowledge that is “stored in the bones.”

Agnieszka Pawłowska-Mainville is UNESCO Chair in Living Heritage and Sustainable Livelihoods and associate professor in Global and International Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Agnieszka Pawłowska-Mainville's profile page

• Winner, Margaret McWilliams Book Award for Scholarly History, Manitoba Historical Society

"Pawłowska-Mainville’s book is a necessary read for anyone interested in the practice of cultural preservation efforts both within Indigenous communities and with regards to other at risk communities. Very few academic texts leave my hands with tears on the page, and hers was one of them. The book is a deep portrait of intellect, passion, and kindness with a rallying call for cultural mobilisation."

JACANZS

"In Stored in the Bones, Pawlowska-Mainville mixes the rich stories of her Indigenous guides—including Anishinaabe/Ojibwe medicine man Richard Morrison, Poplar River trapper Abel Bruce, and Inninu trapper Noah Massan—with the practical aspects of preserving intangible cultural heritage. Their oral storytelling is an example of cultural heritage preservation, as all three men passed away before the book was published."

Windspeaker