Here are some of the comments from the visitors' book. I've never see so many longer comments before, and people are reading the book and referring to each others' comments too. It's really interesting.
- These shirts
belong to a people who are still in existence. They should be given back.
Period. Then get them to make new shirts to display in this museum. It’s
nothing to do with how fragile they are. It’s to do with being objects
which have deep meaning. Please give them back.
- Wonderful
exhibit but makes me sad that their culture was ever stifled. The shirts
should go back- or should they? They were traded; these shirts were not
taken to squash the culture but were given as a sign of goodwill that we
should ALL learn from.
- I travelled
here from Australia to see the museum and this exhibition after reading
about the project. Good luck with it all and congratulations to the
project team.
- Christeen
Schoepf, Phd candidate, UNE Armidale NSW
- This is an
amazing and impressive exhibit. I’m an archaeologist specializing in
Southeastern (USA) Native American archaeology, and I find this a very
touching story.
- I actually
came to the Pitt Rivers to ‘fill time’ as have been here many times over
the years. This is why temporary exhibitions are so important, they keep
museums alive. I found this exhibition very emotive- I was close to tears.
As a conservator who has studied museology in the past- I would hope that
at least a long term loan can be organised- I find that people engaging
with objects is more important than any ‘small’ amount of damage this may
or may not cause. This stuff is alive- it has had a tremendous impact on
the Blackfoot people- surely that is more important than having them in
‘dead’ displays- I agree with A.Morton who commented earlier- great if
replicas could be made and displayed here- let them have one! [Shrops.]
