Cultural Interpreter

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Cultural Interpreter: Summer Student
Buffalo Nations Museum, Banff, Alberta
Start Date: May 19, 2020
Hourly Rate: $16/Hour

ARE YOU CURIOUS? CALLING FOR MUSEUM CULTURAL INTERPRETER
Buffalo Nations Museum in Banff Alberta is inviting applicants who love to have conversations with people of all ages and culture about history and current affairs to apply to join the museum’s heritage team. We value an honest ethical social young person with high emotional intelligence and eager to learn about Canada and its peoples. We prefer a 3rd or 4th year university student with experience working with Indigenous projects and a desire to progress and learn more. Come and join an interactive summer of events: annual Powwow, opening new exhibits, Indigenous Speaker Series, Elder panels, movie nights, medicine walks, Indigenous artist workshops, and much more programming.

Job Description
The Interpreter will provide a cultural resource to enhance the museum visitor’s experience and answer the visitor’s curiosity and desire to learn about Indigenous culture. The candidate’s responsibilities will enable development of their professional, social, and employable skills.

Museum Benefits:
•To act on the “truth and reconciliation” calls to action that reconciliation (understanding each other’s cultures), begins with us, the museum leaders and their mission
•To promote cultural language revitalization by hiring an Interpreter familiar with Indigenous language skills (not required but some knowledge is preferable)
•To promote dialogue about cultural experiences between visitors of all ages and our staff who will communicate feedback to museum management to act on what visitors are looking for
•Management to collaborate with highly visible staff (Interpreter works with visitors), to develop museum strategies to answer truth and reconciliation “calls to action”
•To teach Interpreter and have Interpreter teach staff to promote recognizing and respecting Indigenous peoples’ rights

Student Benefits:
•To learn Canadian history through the lens of authentic Indigenous cultural leaders
•To commit to a unique summer experience the candidate will be passionate about – which will strengthen their understanding of Indigenous history and current events in Canada
•To help the candidate make decisions on their future field of study
•To build relationships with other students, staff, visitors, and cultural leaders in order continue expanding their knowledge of other cultures
• o practice their memory and analysis of information learned, and contribute their own views and awareness

Work Tasks and Responsibilities
•Deliver knowledge and purpose of museum exhibits and detailed stories of collections
•Develop confidence speaking one-on-one and to large groups of visitors of all ages
•Deliver passionately to inspire the curious
•Learn question/answer format, spontaneous delivery, creative story-telling, outreach to youth and seniors in particular, to interact with each other and share their reactions and knowledge with the museum team
•Interact respectfully with Indigenous people who visit the museum to discover their family’s history and culture
•Over time, to design own style of interaction and touring around the museum
•Provide computer documentation of some of their method of storytelling or learning for training manual for future interpreters
•Share visitor perspectives and experiences with management
•Assist with upgrading admissions’ staff communication skills
•Assist with museum events, movie nights, cultural workshops, film making, exhibit opening parties, Indigenous performances for tour groups, Annual Powwow

Supervision
Student will be trained under supervision and mentoring of Museum Manager and Board of Director, an Elder and experienced guide.

Candidate profile
Ideal candidate
•In 3 or 4th year university, preferably in museum related field of study, history, anthropology
•Indigenous upbringing and knowledge of traditions ideal
•High emotional intelligence as will be tested through shadowing daily interaction with staff and visitors
•Prior job experience speaking in front of large groups of people
•High skills speaking and listening intelligently to promote understanding
•Happy positive personality with mature but not conservative outlook
•Exhibits an appetite for intellectual growth
•Multi-lingual (any indigenous language, French, German preferred)
•Creative (arts background) to enhance storytelling, programming, and exhibits
•Advanced competence using computers, social media, museum technology

Please email a brief cover letter describing why you want to work at the museum and a resume with detailed education, work, and volunteer experience to Angelika Eirisch at angelikacpa@gmail.com on or before April 22nd, 2020.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however only those invited for phone and skype interviews, will be contacted.

Museum will assist hired candidate to find reasonable-priced accommodation.

This position is subject to grant approval.

No Phone Calls Please!