Hearing Beyond What Is Spoken: Collective Grief at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre

Abstract

ABSTRACT For museums and historic sites that grapple with the legacies of historical trauma, collective and intergenerational grief can become embedded in both the museum’s identity and practices. In this article, the authors discuss collective loss and grief through the case of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in British Columbia, Canada. We discuss the lasting legacies of racial trauma experienced by Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. We draw from psychological research about empathy, grief, and trauma to offer approaches of self-awareness, nonverbal attending, and reflective listening that will support museum educators in their encounters with grief at the museum.