National Call - Nika Collison

May 7, 2020  14:00 - 15:00

(GMT -7:00) Pacific Time

Event URL:  https://oceanwise.webex.com/oceanwise/j.php?MTID=m0e2708fcdc8cbeddb8a4daa9c0064dd2
Hosted by: Ocean Wise

Click Here to Join The Call May 7th 2-3pm (PST)

Jisgang Nika Collison belongs to the Kaay'ahl Laanas clan of the Haida Nation. She is executive director and principal curator of the Haida Gwaii Museum at Kay Llnagaay and has worked in the field of arts, culture and heritage for more than 20 years. Deeply committed to reconciliation, Nika is a senior negotiator for Haida repatriation initiatives, pursuing reparation and relationships with mainstream museums and other institutions on a global scale.

Collison currently serves on the Royal BC Museum’s board of directors and its Indigenous advisory and advocacy committee, the American Museum of Natural History’s Northwest Coast Hall restoration advisory table, and the Canadian Museum Association’s Reconciliation Council.

Nika consults, publishes and lectures internationally. Her recent publications include The Indigenous Repatriation Handbook (Royal BC Museum, 2019) and Athlii Gwaii: Upholding Haida Law at Lyell Island (Council of the Haida Nation, 2018). Collison is a recipient of the Michael M. Ames Award for Innovative Museum Anthropology from the AAA Council for Museums Anthropology for her work in repatriation and Indigenous scholarship and was named one of the top 10 Cultural Professionals for 2017 by the BC Museums Association.

Collison is a traditional signer who has led the ceremonial Haida dance group Hltaaxuulang Guud Ad K’aajuu for over 20 years. She is a life-long Nation-based scholar of all things Haida and holds a financial management diploma from the British Colombia Institute of Technology.

Nika will be speaking on Thursday May 7th (2-3pm PST) to us about the work that she does at the museum in Kay Llnagaay, Haida culture, and some of the community needs from a visiting group like ours.