Four views on a research project about Siberian collection from the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków

Abstract

The article examines the process, methods and results of a 3-year-long research project (2016-2019) concerning the 19th century Siberian collection from the resources of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków which was donated by political prisoners, scientists and travellers. The authors discuss how the contemporary knowledge of many local experts from different ethnic groups (such as local residents, reindeer herders, whale hunters, museum staff, donators’ families) combined with archival sources could help to understand the unique connections between the past and the future of such heritage and its consequences in our lives. After the research, the collection is now accessible in a digital repository along with audio and visual materials from the fieldwork and the available archive data. Some of the stories are presented also in the exhibition “Siberia. Voices from the North”