Decolonising knowledge/Autobiographie d’une selle métis at the MCAH

Exhibition “Autobiographie d’une selle métis" at the Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire (MCAH) in Lausanne.

Exhibition presented online May 6th, 2025 by Claire Brizon.
Documentation and a video recording of a guided tour by Claire Brizon are available on OSF under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Data in the Wikimedia projects and other relevant resources

Main Wikidata items:
- Exhibition: Q132795835
- Museum: Q3329513
Category on Wikimedia Commons:
- Museums in Lausanne
- Musée à Lausanne
Article about the museum on Wikipedia:
- in German: Kantonsmuseum für Archäologie und Geschichte (Lausanne)
- in French: Musée cantonal d'archéologie et d'histoire de Lausanne
Documentation on OSF: https://osf.io/vgeht/

References

Museum's Website
Exhibition's webpage
Video on the saddle's history - Episode 1 (last accessed: 30.6.2025)
Video on the saddle's history - Episode 2 (last accessed: 30.6.2025)
Swiss museum exhibit features 1820s Métis saddle alongside modern beaded items, Stephanie Cram, CBC News, 12.11.2024 (last accessed: 30.6.2025)

Content presented in the exhibition

The exhibition tells the story of a pad saddle created by the Métis, one of the three Aboriginal peoples recognised in Canada, and brought to Lausanne in 1820. The saddle is connected to Swiss families who settled in the Red River Colony (now Winnipeg, Canada). It is displayed alongside works by five contemporary Métis bead embroidery artists.

The exhibition is part of the "Invisible collection" series, which explores objects from the Museum's collections that are usually not on display.

Images and videos available on OSF: https://osf.io/vgeht/

topics

Provenance research d:Q1678416
Red River Colony, d:Q2032545
Winnipeg (Canada), d:Q2135
Métis, d:Q262457
Saddle [[d: Q192249]
Jennine Krauchi
David Heinrichs
Vi Houssin
Claire Johnston
Brianna Oversby