Indigenous Internship Program

In order to ensure that the Program is as accessible as possible, we are pleased to offer a number of participation options, including in-person and hybrid, as well as part-time internships. Interested applicants will work with an Internship Coordinator to select the option that best suits them.

From September to April

The first option is an eight-month, in-person and on-site internship. This internship takes place every year from September to April, with a two-week break for the holiday season. During the training year, candidates can undertake practicum assignments lasting four to five weeks in the areas of research, collections, conservation, exhibitions, public programs, corporate affairs, development and museum services.

Please note that this option does require participants to be located in the Ottawa-Gatineau region throughout the duration of the internship.

From January to April or from September to December

The internship will take place during a four-month period, either from January to April or from September to December. During those four months, participants will be working remotely from their preferred location on a research project based on a project proposal. They will be given access to the Museum’s network and database, and will have weekly meetings with an internship coordinator and a mentor from the Museum to monitor their progress and to foster creativity.

On three separate visits of one week duration, participants will be brought to the Museum (all expenses paid). During the on-site portions of the internships, participants will have access to Museum resources in support of their specific project goals, and will be mentored in core Museum functions including research, collections, conservation, exhibitions, public programs, corporate affairs, development and museum services.

Any First Nations, Métis and Inuit individuals with stable Internet access. In the case of the hybrid option, have the availability and willingness to travel to the National Capital Region (Ottawa-Gatineau) for three one-week periods to work in person with the Museum’s resources (including its professional staff).

Please note that having a college or university credential in a museum or heritage-related discipline is considered an asset, but is not necessary for the Program. Additionally, experience in Indigenous cultural interpretation or related work is also considered an asset, but is not mandatory. Lived experience will be recognized just as much as formal education.

A Museum steering committee will review and select successful candidates from the proposals received based on creativity, innovation and applicability to the Museum’s mandate as Canada’s national museum of human history.

Applicants are encouraged to focus on the following areas for projects, as they can be completed virtually as well as in person: oral histories, Indigenous languages, Indigenous music and song traditions, graphic arts, and digital technologies and online content creation.

Participants will be paid for both in-person and hybrid options. Compensation will be based on the Government of Canada’s rate of pay for students. It will honour the program and year of study of the applicant. However, should an applicant not be in a post-secondary program, years of both lived and work experience will be honoured in accordance with a post-secondary education.

The Museum also pays for travel to the Ottawa-Gatineau area, should the applicant not live in the region. Please note that the applicant will be required to pay their living expenses.

Eligible applicants should submit:

• a cover letter that includes a one to two-page project proposal describing their interest in the Program and their intended project. The letter should also describe how the intended project will foster their understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, stories and material culture;
• a resume with their current contact information, their academic and employment history, and contact information for two references;
• information on whether they are applying as a First Nations, Métis or Inuit candidate, and if their particular areas of interest are in museum collections, archival and research work, or museum exhibitions and program development; and
• information on which option they are interested in and their preferred start date.

Applications can be submitted to: indigenousinternship@historymuseum.ca

Applications may also be submitted by regular mail to:
Canadian Museum of History
Indigenous Internship Program
100 Laurier Street
Gatineau QC  K1A 0M8
Canada

Note: For internship products or projects of potential monetary or commercial value, the Museum will refrain from exercising its copyright ownership and any financial considerations, in exchange for recognition and acknowledgement of the Museum and its resources in the development of the product or project.

Alexandra (Ally) Freedman
Coordinator, Indigenous Internship Program
343-550-9468
indigenousinternship@historymuseum.ca

In 1993, I was approached by an Elder named Russell Wright (late) of Siksika. He asked me if I would consider leaving the community to attend a training program in museum practices. He told me I would have to move across the country for a period of six months. Before he left, I told him I would need some time to consider it. After some weeks passed, a member of the Siksika Council came to my house and asked me the very same questions that the Elder had asked me. As it turns out, I was chosen from a group of six people from the community. Needless to say, off I went to Quebec to begin six months of the most enjoyable work I have ever been involved in.

I was thrilled to be training at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now Canadian Museum of History). I was familiar with the set-up at the Glenbow Museum, and since that time, I had always wanted to work in a museum environment. I always wanted to work in a setting where I could appreciate artifacts and stuff from the past. At the Museum, all my expectations were met, and I would do the work all over again in a minute.

Overall, my experience was very positive. The other interns in my year were amazing people to work with, and the Museum staff was always very generous in sharing their knowledge. From my experience, I have gained lifelong friends, along with important skills and training.

If you have decided that a museum career is on your horizon, then the Canadian Museum of History is where you want to be. At the Museum, there are many worlds and experiences to discover. The exhibits and displays are awesome, you can be right there when a room is transformed into something from the past. There are many things that the Museum has to offer. For First Nation students, don’t pass this one, you won’t regret it.

Capturing Gun – Irvine Scalplock graduated from the Program in 1994.

I was referred to the program by my Post-Secondary Education Support Administrator at the Kitigan Zibi Education Council, who told me to consider applying after I completed my undergraduate degree in Art History at Carleton University.

To learn from Museum staff about the collecting, care and presentation of our cultural heritage; to become familiar with the day-to-day operations of the Museum; and to learn what Algonquin artworks the Museum had in its collections.

Overall, my experience was very positive. The other interns in my year were amazing people to work with, and the Museum staff was always very generous in sharing their knowledge. From my experience, I have gained lifelong friends, along with important skills and training.

My experiences in the program directly led to finding employment in the field.

It is a fantastic program to learn more about collecting, care and presentation of Aboriginal material and visual culture. The Museum has amazing collections and a vast array of experience to draw on.

Linda Grussani graduated from the Program in 2001.

I wanted to further my knowledge in this field and actually work in a museum-environment setting. While there, I did research on our former community of Fort George and also got to work on some artifacts and materials collections that we had recently acquired that year for our community. I worked in the library and archives, conservation, ethnology, collections management, children’s museum, and the exhibition hall. Our group of interns were also consulted on the First Peoples’ Hall exhibits, which I found was quite new but exciting to be able to contribute our ideas from a First Peoples’ perspective. I learned so much about hands-on conservation techniques, and the people that I worked with in all the departments were always willing to help and give advice. It was a good working environment.

I encourage anyone who wants to follow the Indigenous Internship Program at the Canadian Museum of History. We established good working relationships and over the years, I still maintain contact with the people that I worked with there, and I bring our groups of Elders and youth workers to see the collections at the Canadian Museum of History and other museums such as the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

Margaret Fireman graduated from the program in 2001.