In recounting the history of Cherbourg as an Aboriginal settlement, the Ration Shed Museum presents some traumatic narratives. It paints a picture of violent geographic and cultural dislocation, crude living conditions, forced labour and administrative oppression by infusing historical artefacts with the personal recollections of Cherbourg residents. The intent behind the Ration Shed Museum itself, however, is something quite different: its curators want to tell a story that speaks of hope for this community’s future, and to work towards some form of reconciliation. They do this by actively engaging with the ‘terrible gift’ of the past in the present, and by providing spaces for encounters that can lead to open discussions of difficult social issues and celebrations of contem- porary Cherbourg life. This article draws on ethnographic interviews and observational data alongside the theoretical work of Roger I. Simon and Andrea Witcomb to describe how the Ration Shed Museum engages its community and visitors in a dual process of both understanding Cherbourg’s history and reframing traumatic narratives to enact a pedagogy of hope.

中文翻译：

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一个不同的故事：瑟堡 The Ration Shed Museum 的希望教育

在讲述瑟堡作为原住民定居点的历史时，Ration Shed 博物馆展示了一些创伤性的叙述。它通过将历史文物与瑟堡居民的个人回忆融合在一起，描绘了一幅剧烈的地理和文化混乱、恶劣的生活条件、强迫劳动和行政压迫的画面。然而，Ration Shed 博物馆背后的意图却完全不同：它的策展人想要讲述一个故事，讲述对这个社区未来的希望，并努力实现某种形式的和解。他们通过积极参与过去的“可怕的礼物”来实现这一目标，并通过提供相遇空间来公开讨论困难的社会问题和庆祝当代瑟堡生活。