Britain was one of the most significant sources of missionaries to Africa and the Pacific during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While histories of missionary activity are matters of ongoing importance in these now strongly Christian parts of the world, attitudes to Christianity in Britain, and its history of missionary activity are increasingly ambivalent. However, a great deal of material heritage associated with early missionary encounters remains in Britain, where it is widely neglected. This material includes: * items collected as evidence of pre-Christian religious practices, many of which are now regarded as rare and major works of art * gifts received by missionaries from local people * the personal possessions and portraits of famous missionaries * relics of the ships used by missionaries to reach their destinations * material, such as collecting boxes, that were used to appeal to supporters in Britain This project aims to create a conversation between academics, museum curators and representatives of missionary societies, as well as heritage organizations in Africa and the Pacific to establish who cares about this heritage in the present, and who should care for it in the future. Three workshops will be held during 2012 at the National Museum of Scotland, the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, and the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich. The project is a partnership between researchers at these three organizations, as well as the Museum Ethnographers Group, a charity that exists to 'Make connections through world collections'. As a recognized 'Subject-Specialist Network' in the museum's sector, the Museum Ethnographers Group will use its connections to influence museum practice in relation to the cataloging, conservation and exhibition of collections of missionary material. Each of the workshops will include a presentation by an international academic researcher, as well as by knowledgeable museum curators and missionary organisations about their experiences of working with missionary material. These presentations will be the starting points for a series of structured conversations about the future of collections of missionary material in Britain, and the best ways of making them available for study by international researchers, as well as those in Britain and overseas for whom they have a significant value as items of heritage. The National Museum of Scotland will be opening an exhibition on the life and legacy of the famous missionary David Livingstone towards the end of this project, organized in collaboration with colleagues from Museums of Malawi in Africa. We expect the opening of this exhibition to be an important moment when the conversations that begin during these workshops can receive a more public airing in the media.

Many anthropology collections contain objects often considered the domain of botanical gardens or natural history museums. These ethnobotanical collections can languish as museum professionals struggle with how to research and curate them. Considering the interplay between natural history and ethnography collections, this project builds on a re-emerging interest in indigenous ecology and the value of ethnobotanical collections as material archives of indigenous ecological knowledge. Situating itself within current debates on decolonising the practice and method of museum work, this project aims to create a conversation between academics, researchers, museum professionals, botanists, and indigenous knowledge holders to establish the relevance of these collections in the present, and their potential applications for the future. Three two-day workshops will be held during 2021/22 at The Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and National Museums Scotland. The project is a partnership between researchers at these three organisations. The project is also in partnership with the Museum Ethnographers Group (MEG) and the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA), both recognized subject specialist networks (SSN) within the museum sector. We will involve representatives of heritage and environmental organisations including the Museu Goeldi in Brazil, the National Museum of Australia, the Australian Tropical Herbarium, and NOMAD project in the UK which works with engaging Somali communities in heritage projects. The project will benefit from the connections of these SSNs, museums and community groups through their ability to shape and inform museum practice in relation to these interdisciplinary collections.

From the British Museum to Historic England, decolonisation has become a critical challenge for heritage institutions and for reconsidering colonial legacies in national heritage. Internationally, settler countries are grappling with this issue with a specific focus on settler/Indigenous relations, with applications and implications for heritage practice that can inform and support those in Britain. In 2015 Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) acknowledged a history of cultural genocide against Indigenous peoples in Canada and committed to addressing this difficult heritage in the 94 'Calls to Action'. British Columbia (BC) is leading the response, becoming the first province in Canada to enshrine United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into law. This established UNDRIP as the foundational framework for reconciliation in BC, placing Indigenous heritage rights at the centre (via Articles 11, 12, 13, and 31). Yet by February 2020 Indigenous leaders were declaring reconciliation dead in response to the treatment of Wet'suwet'en protests in BC about natural gas pipelines planned to be built across traditional unceded territories. This highlights how Indigenous heritage rights are intertwined with land, resource, social, and environmental justice. (Re)conciliation is a difficult process that requires sustained effort, time, a willingness to decolonise approaches, and engage with non-western epistemologies, ontologies and axiologies. The (re) is bracketed in recognition that conciliation is often needed first. Preliminary research with community leaders and heritage professionals in BC indicates a mix of hope and cynicism about the new laws: will they support Indigenous rights, or simply pay lip service to the idea? While aspects of North West Coast Indigenous heritage have been explored before, this Fellowship will bring a new lens to the analysis. By focusing on renewing relations it will consider this heritage holistically, bringing together multiple dimensions of heritage, reconnecting people with places, collections, practice, and environment. The research will explore different approaches to reclaiming, renewing, and (re)conciling heritage, exploring the history of the struggles and achievements that led to this significant change in law. The research focuses on the importance of (re)connections, (re)newing relations within and across cultural groups and heritage organisations, and recognising the role of ecosystems and environment in maintaining and sustaining heritage. Crucially, the project explores the potential of heritage to positively contribute to (re)conciliation and decolonisation. This interdisciplinary project aims to make a future-oriented contribution to (re)conciliation and (re)negotiation of Indigenised heritage in Canada and its (post)colonial legacies in museums and heritage in the UK.