Concepts Have Teeth
Concepts Have Teeth was an AHRC networking project with a team of Blackfoot-led researchers, artists, archaeologists and museum professionals working to connect historical Blackfoot objects held in collections in Britain with the Niitsitapi.
Last updated: 17 January 2023
About the project
The UK network was led by Louisa Minkin in conjunction with Knowledge Holders of the Blackfoot people and colleagues from National Museums Scotland, the University of Southampton, the University of Lethbridge, Canada.
The title of the project is taken directly from political anthropologist Audra Simpson: "Historical perceptibility is used, and is still used, to claim, to define capacities for self-rule, to apportion social and political possibilities, to, in effect, empower and disempower Indigenous peoples in the present. Such categorical forms of recognition and mis-recognition are indebted to deep philosophical histories of seeing and knowing [...] And so it is that concepts have teeth and teeth that bite through time." — Audra Simpson, 'Ethnographic Refusal', Junctures, 2007, p.69
The project used digital imaging techniques, art-based public engagement and spatial web technologies. These tools looked to improve the ability of Blackfoot people to interact with their historical objects and recover and shape their own narratives surrounding them.
At National Museums Scotland the project is focused on collections of Blackfoot quillwork and beadwork. The outputs included 3D digital models of museum objects, an online digital platform Mootookakio'ssin, an exhibition in Canada, and a forthcoming publication on digital imaging in archaeology and cultural heritage.
- Project title
Concepts Have Teeth: Digital Imaging and Blackfoot Material Culture in UK Collections
- Project active
2020 - 2022
- Research theme
Scotland's Material Heritage, Identities and Cultural Contacts
Contributors
Louisa Minkin - Principal Investigator
University of the Arts London
Andrew Meirion Jones - Co-Investigator
Stockholm University
Ian Dawson
Winchester School of Art
Thomas Allison
Independent Digital Imaging Specialist
Christine Clark
University of Lethbridge
Josephine Mills
University of Lethbridge
Danielle Heavy Head
Blackfoot Digital Library
Professor Jackson 2Bears
University of Lethbridge
Melissa Shouting
University of Lethbridge
Alison Clark
National Museums Scotland
John Giblin
National Museums Scotland
Alison Brown
University of Aberdeen Blackfoot Confederacy
Project contact
Contact list of staff members
Dr Ali Clark
Funded by
Related to this project
- Discover
A closer look at a Korean scroll painting
In our collection we have six Korean hanging scrolls that all date from the beginning of the 20th century. This was a time of great change that marked the end of the long-running Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910) and the beginning of the… - Discover
Exploring painting styles of Korean hanging scrolls
In our collection we have six Korean hanging scrolls that all date from the beginning of the 20th century. This was a time of great change that marked the end of the long-running Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910) and the beginning of the… - Discover
An introduction to our Chinese collection
From ancient ceramics to imperial jade, oracle bones to contemporary propaganda posters, our Chinese collection spans over four thousand years and includes around 21,000 items.