T16/Workshop 01: Decolonising Disaster Heritage Research from Indigenous Land-based Knowledge and Art Activities from Canada and Bangladesh
Organisers:
Dr Ranjan Datta, Dept of Humanities, Mount Royal University, Canada; rdatta@mtroyal.ca
Colleen J. Charles, Woodland Cree First Nation from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band in northern Saskatchewan, Canada; charles.colleen@northlandscollege.sk.ca
Dr Jebunnessa Chapola, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina, Canada; jchapola@mtroyal.ca
This workshop explores decolonising disaster heritage research through Indigenous community-led land-based knowledge and art activities from Canada and Bangladesh. Centring on Indigenous land-based approaches, the workshop highlights cross-cultural and intergenerational learning to address colonial legacies in disaster resilience. Participant-relatives will engage in land-based practices, such as learning decolonial tools and storytelling from Cree communities in Canada and land-based scholars from Bangladesh. Art activities, including reconciliation in canvas, will connect residential school impacts, and traditional knowledge with community-driven narratives of reconciliation. The workshop emphasises reciprocal learning, self-determination, and the transformative tools of decolonial methodologies in disaster research. Activities will showcase how integrating spiritual, cultural, and environmental practices can strengthen adaptive capacities and create healing within disaster-affected communities. Participant-relatives will leave with actionable insights for applying decolonial and community-led approaches in their work, fostering meaningful partnerships and deepening respect for Indigenous knowledge systems in disaster heritage and environmental sustainability research.
T16/Workshop 02: Grass-root Responders in Changing Island Landscapes: Recording Heritage Sites Impacted by Natural Disasters in the Pacific
Organisers:
Christophe Sand, Head ICOMOS Pasifika; christophe.sand64@gmail.com
Mere Ratu, Blue Shield, vanuamere@yahoo.com
Annette Kuehlem, German Archaeological Institute, annette.kuehlem@dainst.de
Christian Reepmeyer, German Archaeological Institute, Christian.Reepmeyer@dainst.de
Ania Kotarba, Archaeology and Curatorial and Museum Studies and Environment Institute, the University of Adelaide, Australia, ania.kotarba@adelaide.edu.au
Loretta Hasu, University of Otago, haslo228@student.otago.ac.nz
Michelle J. Richards, The University of Melbourne, Australia, michelle.richards@unimelb.edu.au
Robin Wright, Digital Preservation Coalition – Australasia and Asia Pacific, Australia, robin.wright@dpconline.org
Processes associated with climate change and rising sea level have started to have multiple consequences for Pacific Islanders. The coastal erosion witnessed on every Island is dramatically threatening the future of coastal settlements and especially the sustainability of atolls. Confronted by the rapid disappearance of the landscapes that have been home for tens of generations of their forefathers, some Island communities have teamed with researchers to record their vanishing tangible heritage, as well as the intangible heritage that is associated with the islands, though different media, and especially using digital recording.
Unfortunately, there is no hope to see this form of collaborative work fulfilled on every Island experiencing heritage loss in the Pacific. This workshop though, proposes to discuss alternative ways to empower local communities in the recording of their tangible and intangible heritage. While digital recording must be favoured when possible, the members of ICOMOS Pasifika consider that less technically constraining methods should be made accessible for grass-root communities with little access to powerful wires and high-tech tools. This workshop plans to: 1) discuss these issues, 2) to present a Heritage Tool-Kit easily operated by Indigenous communities and, 3) to consider ways to disseminate it as widely as possible.
In addition to interested colleagues working in the Asia-Pacific region, we invite participants from around the globe who are facing these issues to share their experiences.