This is an excellent point that goes to the heart of good historical
interpretation. If one is involved in 1st person interpretation then one
should be as exact as it is humanly possible to the specific terms, usage,
dialect, details of the time period involved. First person interpretation is
essentially a very precise and demanding acting job. You don't tell a
visitor about a time period, you "live" it. I would not recommend even
attempting it unless one has sufficient historical data to recreate a
particular time and the resources (fiscal and personnel) to do it well.

Third person interpretation has more freedom to it and has the advantage of
being much cheaper. Third person "costumed" interpretation is what I
personally have most experience with, and it is a cross between the two
types of interpretations. When well done it is almost as effective as 1st
person interpretation. In 1st person interpretations one must use the terms
used at the time. If you are interpreting a particular year you cannot even
think of something that occurred a year later. In third person you might be
connected to today's reality, but you are going to be much more effective if
you stick to the specified period.

If you play a particular character in a particular period, your language and
terminology should be of the time-no matter your own preferences. When you
are in "character" it is not you speaking it, is the character in that time.

I found in my work that many visitors are a bit disturbed when they
encounter good 1st person interpretation. This is not due to the
controversial nature of language or terms used, or even reality presented,
but because they become disoriented in that particular period environment.
When done superbly, the visitor begins to question his/her sanity, or the
sanity of the character standing before her/him. That is the mark of
excellent interpretation.

While some in the historical field find issues with 1st person
interpretations it is the most effective way I have seen to immerse someone
in a different reality and to transmit experientially that historical
difference between then and now. My own greatest realization that came out
of work with historical interpretation is the experiential recognition of
the substantial difference in the understanding of "time" between the 17th
century (my period of work) and current day. That recognition informed the
development of our historical interpretive program.

To answer the specific question posed, one must know the major points that
the interpretive program in question wants to address. Once that is known
the specifics will be obvious.

The worst "living history" interpretations I have encountered are instances
of folks dressed in period costume that behave and talk as if they came from
the neighborhood grocery or bar.
nburlakoff

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Annmarie Zan
Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 9:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Racial Terms formally "Enslaved"

This is the exact point I've gone round and round with my boss about. When
I'm doing living history and protray a Metis (in my case half French half
Potawatomi) I will talk about the Three Sisters Garden and how it was used
by nearly all Natives on this continent who farmed. He consistently says
that to place myself in the timeframe I should use the word Indian and I say
if I were really placing myself in the timeframe (and speaking English) I
would use the word Savage and I'm not going there. What do others think?
annmarie

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