Imagining the Post-Colonial and Post-Genocidal Nation in the National Museum of Rwanda, Butare

Rwandan solutions to Rwandan problems: Heritage decolonization and community engagement in Nyanza District, Rwanda

“…The widespread acceptance among our respondents of the idea that heritage plays an important social role aligns with research findings on how the Rwandan government and heritage sector stress the importance of heritage to the construction of a new, peaceful, and unified post-Genocide society (Bolin, 2019a(Bolin, , 2019bDe Becker, 2016;Giblin, 2013). On the other hand, our findings about the sometimes-conflicting views on the relationship between heritage and development are relatively new in Rwandan heritage studies.…”

“…The colonial regime had other impacts on heritage as well. As in many nations of the region, Rwanda’s museum sector began with the facilitation and participation of the former colonizer in founding the National Museum of Rwanda and other institutions (De Becker, 2016; Giblin, 2018).…”

“…In recent years, however, there have been deliberate efforts to decolonize the heritage landscape. For example, the Ethnographic Museum’s exhibitions have been recast in order to eliminate colonial framings regarding aspects of Rwandan life such as ethnicity (De Becker, 2016). Other initiatives of decolonization include attempts to transform museum exhibitions and revitalize cultural heritage through training and outreach, as well as rethinking conservation practices (Umuhoza, 2021).…”

“…This aims to replace the ethnic fragmentation instantiated by colonial governance, which ultimately provided a roadmap for genocide. As such, heritage plays a role in healing the post-conflict society (Giblin, 2013) and pursuing national reconciliation, along with promoting pride in Rwandanness (De Becker, 2016). It is further utilized by the government to create coherent narratives of the past, including about the Genocide Against the Tutsi in 1994 (Bolin, 2019b; Jessee, 2017).…”