Finding a New Perspective on Scottish Spirit and Heritage
The Spirit of the Highlands and Islands team were delighted to invite students from the University of the Highlands and Islands to volunteer with us over a 6-week period work experience placement. Students were asked to research a topic or theme relating to the heritage of the region which interested them, and develop creative or informative stories based on this research.
In the first of our Spirit Spotlights, History student Katherine Davidson writes about her experience volunteering with the project and uncovering the ‘community spirit’ of the Highlands and Islands.
Archiving and museum studies have grown to become a passion of mine. From experiencing museums over the world to studying it at university, the museum sector has been ever-present in my life. Any object in a museum fascinates me. When looking at an object or document behind a glass casing, my thought is that this was once somebody's ‘thing’.
I have lived in the Highlands for the last three years attending university here and since then, I have formed an attachment to Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. I am in awe of historical artefacts and documents! My classes at university are often filled with Scottish history, focusing on events that I had not been taught before. I began to understand how life functioned here through reading first-hand accounts and examining documents that relayed the everyday problems people faced in an ever-changing political climate. Therefore, when the opportunity came to be involved with this project, I jumped at the chance!
Volunteering with the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands project has been fulfilling and insightful. Not only to work on a project which will shape how the Highlands and Islands are portrayed to the public in the future but also to engage with a part of Highlands history which is full of interesting characters. It allowed me to interact with materials that I had not thought to explore before. During my degree, I analysed and dealt with medieval materials, such as chronicles, however this project focusses on contemporary and historical stories forcing me to step outside of my comfort zone. I really enjoyed being able to visit the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness where the staff helped to provide research materials and helpful advice on community stories.
The project was based on choosing three different sets of materials related to themes in the Highlands and Islands, then writing a short piece on why these documents or materials should be included in the project. At first, the task was daunting as there were many materials and avenues I could explore, many themes that are important to the story of the Highlands and Islands. However, for me personally, I felt that the history of this area had been dominated by the big names, the celebrities if you will, such as Bonnie Prince Charlie, Flora MacDonald and Rob Roy. Therefore, I approached the project to focus on the everyday people, a history I believe is overshadowed.
I also believed that it was important that people could relate to some of the problems and events in the material I chose. Therefore, I focussed on the Highlands and Islands Medical Service Board as one of my documents. This was the first step towards a comprehensive health care service in the area and a predecessor to the NHS, a service which is incredibly important in everyone’s lives in our current climate.
I now wish to explain how I came to this understanding. ‘Spirit’ in the project title implies people to me. Therefore, I tried to look for the people in the resources that I selected. It also means community to me, how people have coped during difficult times. However, even going into this project with this mindset, it wasn’t until I came face to face with these documents that I really understood what I was trying to show. Particularly in the prescription books. There were hundreds of names, along with their aliments and remedies, who all had their own lives and stories. I knew I couldn’t tell them all, but that is one of the things I love about history. There is always something new to be discovered, a new avenue to pursue. For me, it was reading about people’s lives in the Highlands. I understood from the start that Highlands and Islands history was more than the traditional narrative but it was not until I came into contact with documents people used in everyday life, that I started to see the individuals within the whole who contributed to the community ‘spirit’ in small and large ways.
The Jacobite letters which I chose to base one of my stories on came from this theme. I did not want to focus on the 1745 rebellion, its fame already aided by a certain television programme. Instead, I decided to look at the 1715 rebellion from people's perspectives and how they reacted to this event. What struck me in the document was the language, the evident hatred and wanting of change. I had studied propaganda before, but this felt slightly different, which prompts me to add another description to what Spirit of the Highlands means to me. The Highlands and Islands, I believe, are a way of life. The people of the 1715 rebellion felt that was being threatened, their beliefs ignored, and they had to challenge that. With that in mind, I came to understand that the Spirit of the Highlands also means people banding together for a cause they believe in due to deep-rooted traditions and customs.
Going into the Archive Centre in Inverness, ordering materials I had chosen and then researching them to write about them is something I could only have imagined doing when my interest in museums and archiving began. The work that I was completing for the project felt valuable, and this was apparent throughout, with the engagement with the staff and the project members.
Highland Archive and Registration Centre, Inverness.
We must engage with history and tell the stories that we feel are important, which I came to understand this project to be about. Without this, ideas and essential aspects get left out. Heritage to me is something I wish to pursue in my future career, and my university dissertation is on how we interact with the history being presented to us at museums or heritage sites. Therefore, working and being a part of this project as a volunteer has been a great experience and honestly so much fun. I cannot wait to see what Inverness Castle and what stories will help to inspire people to visit the Highlands and Islands!