The Denver Museum of Science & Nature (DMSN) will close its 45th anniversary North American Indian cultures exhibition this summer, citing concerns the display contains harmful stereotypes, centers white culture, inaccurately names sovereign nations, and displays Indigenous artifacts without proper attribution or consent. The museum said it will work with indigenous communities to design a new exhibit in its place, although no opening date has been set for the next exhibit.
The dioramas of North American Indian cultures exhibition, built in 1978, are resolutely in the past. The museum explain that these historical representations “perpetuate racist stereotypes”. Exhibits include a recreation of an “Inuit snow house, a Northwest Coast clan house, a Navajo hogan, and a Cheyenne teepee.”
The discussion on the closing of the exhibition resumed over the last year. DMSN invited members of the Denver American Indian Commission, a group of named Native people who consult with the city government, to share their thoughts on the sign removal.
“The experiences of Indigenous peoples are contemporary and diverse,” said commission co-chair Joshua Emerson, a Denver-based Navajo comedian and writer. Hyperallergic. “We still exist, we still live on the land that our ancestors lived on from time immemorial.”
The museum announced the decision in an email to members and in a message on May 18. Tweeter and added a “healing statement” on line and in the physical showroom.
“Museum staff and Indigenous community partners are working to respectfully close this hall and to reimagine its practices for exhibiting, curating, collecting, programming and curating as it relates to stories, heritage and assets. indigenous cultures,” the notice states. It also includes a general list of posting issues and a QR code link to a poll where visiting members can provide feedback.
In New York, the New York State Museum in Albany still has historic dioramas and reconstructed houses in its First Peoples exposure. Manhattan’s Museum of Natural History also houses a particularly problematic diorama – a 1939 depiction of the Lenape people encountering Dutch settlers in the 17th century. The museum has chosen to add contextual information rather than suppressing the display.
DMSN’s decision comes as collections of Indigenous artifacts across the country are coming under increasing scrutiny. A ProPublica Last month’s report found that around 85% of the works in a prized donation of 139 Indigenous objects to the Metropolitan Museum of Art had incomplete provenance information. American institutions too hold approximately 100,000 Aboriginal human remains. Last year it emerged that Harvard University alone held the remains of 7,000 Aboriginal people And hair samples of 700 Aboriginal students.
