Museum of Natural History in NYC closes some Native American displays after Biden order
New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is closing certain halls that display Native American artifacts in response to updated federal regulations.
New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is closing certain halls that display Native American artifacts in response to updated federal regulations that call for institutions to receive consent from Indigenous tribes to display some of their artifacts.
Beginning Saturday, the museum’s Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains halls will be closed to staff and visitors. Seven cases displaying Indigenous artifacts in other areas of the museum will also be covered. Sean M. Decatur, the museum’s president, announced the closures in a letter to staff Friday.
“While the actions we are taking this week may seem sudden, they reflect a growing urgency among all museums to change their relationships to, and representation of, Indigenous cultures,” Decatur wrote in the letter. “The Halls we are closing are vestiges of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives, and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples.”
The regulations, which went into effect Jan. 12, have been a long time coming.
Last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order ordering a slew of actions to support tribal self-determination. The order called for the Interior Department to announce final revisions to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a 1990 federal law that “provides for the ownership or control of Native American cultural items (human remains and objects) excavated or discovered on Federal or tribal lands.” The department’s updates include requiring museums and federal agencies to obtain consent from tribes before displaying human remains and cultural artifacts.
Rating: 5