As part of Occidental’s Critical Theories of Antisemitism speaker series, “Gendered Objects of Genocide in Museum Collections” was held Jan. 27 in Choi Auditorium. The event was co-hosted by Dorota Glowacka, a professor of humanities at the University of King’s College, and Lorena Sekwan Fontaine, an associate professor and head of the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba. More than 50 individuals attended the event.
Assistant Professor of Critical Theory & Social Justice (CTSJ) Ben Ratskoff said he hoped to bring speakers who could share their experience with partnered comparative research with the community.
“I wanted to invite people who are working critically and comparatively on genocide and present some of the cutting-edge research that connects Holocaust memory to things that we’re talking about in North America,” Ratskoff said.
Fontaine, a Cree and Anishinaabe member of the Sagkeeng First Nation, focused on Canada’s residential schools. Glowacka, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, centered her research on the Holocaust.
The event was held on Holocaust Remembrance Day and explored how non-dominant views of genocide are remembered and recorded. Glowacka and Fontaine said these perspectives, particularly those of women, are important to examine in genocide remembrance and research.
According to Fontaine, she conducted research by drawing not only from personal experiences and histories, but also from stories shared by donors of the items shown to students during the event.
“The goal was for us to write a paper about settler colonial genocide in North America and the Holocaust, speaking to them as instances of genocidal violence in both places,” Fontaine said.
Glowacka said they expanded their research to include a feminist perspective.
“The history of the genocide has been told from the point of view of a male survivor, and that’s the majority of the stories to this day,” Glowacka said. “One aspect is to tell the stories that are told not necessarily from that perspective. [It] is important to me both because of historical justice but also because I think that history is incomplete without these stories.”
The event began with an examination of residential schools and Holocaust photographs. As the talk progressed, both professors presented various photographs of uniforms and other items. Glowacka showed several altered female Holocaust uniforms, including a bra and sanitary pad. Fontaine showed pictures of children in residential schools and a pair of moccasins.
“[The uniforms and photographs] led to different conversations about how clothing could be used as a way to also express cultural resistance and survive in these different areas,” Fontaine said. “[These conversations] occurred in my community, and so it became more of a personal story to talk about how my family was able to overcome some of the impacts of residential schools by reintegrating ceremonies into our family.”
Glowacka said their inclusion of more intimate items was a deliberate effort to break the silence surrounding them.
“I think that only by talking about them and not perpetuating the silence can we normalize these stories,” Glowacka said. “[There are] aspects of human lives that have been shamed to the detriment of people who have been affected by them.”
Glowacka and Fontaine ended the event by discussing memory carriers. Glowacka presented a cookbook collected from a concentration camp, and Fontaine showed a water drum.
“It sparks the importance of talking about the reparation of the objects that are crucial towards reconciliation with the genocidal oath and restoring cultural integrity,” Fontaine said.
Ratskoff said he appreciated the insights he gained from the event.
“You kind of thought that maybe they were going to be talking about this comparison between Indigenous genocide and the Holocaust,” Ratskoff said. “It ended up not actually doing that, [the talk] was actually about how their own work and their own projects inspired each other to ask different kinds of research questions.”
Safiya Zavala Sweet (junior) said one of the most impactful moments of the talk came when the discussion focused on unmarked graves.
“I thought that was really heartbreaking, but it was beautiful how they were able to transform grief [in a way] that uplifted Indigenous people and spread awareness,” Sweet said.
Contact Levi Lee at leev@oxy.edu
