Reflection

I learned a lot in the process of creating the exhibition, especially the importance of language and its cultural function. In practical terms, this assignment helped me to structure my arguments more clearly and be able to use scholarly articles to support my claims. Likewise, I found the Palladio and Voyant tools quite useful not only for creating exhibitions but also for displaying and analyzing data visually. I am currently taking a Major in History, so I see quite useful applications for both tools.

On the other hand, I would also like to discuss the ethical problems involved in the exhibition. As Christen (2015) mentions, the material collection process was a destructive process, in which native materials were extracted from their local places and knowledge to promote assimilation processes. Likewise, Christen (2015) mentions that researchers must be “aware that tribal materials often pose special issues related to access and use.” This shows that although evidence is useful for arguing good principles, we must be careful not to implement religious or political materials and distort their meaning behind them.