Decolonizing Museums begins with a powerful preface and introductory chapter exploring the colonial legacy of museums, from the explicit—appropriation of human remains—to the subtle—presenting a pan-Indian image rather than being tribally specific. Author Amy Lonetree (Ho-Chunk) is an associate professor and museum professional concerned with accurate Native representations and interrogating ongoing colonial relationships. As an Indigenous scholar, Lonetree privileges Native perspectives and interests, questions the discursive authority of non-Native scholarship, and follows community protocol and naming conventions. Her commitment to decolonizing museum practices and scholarship is evident in her writing.
The book is a comparative study of three museums, and the shifting relationship between Native communities and the museums that represent them. Lonetree analyzes the history, mission, and exhibit designs of each one, asking “how can we begin to decolonize a very Western institution that has been so intimately linked to the colonization process?” (5). Lonetree was on staff at two and has conducted extensive research at all three of the museums. Research included archival materials, interviews, and visual analysis of the exhibition objects. Through a strong ethnographic methodology, her understanding and analysis is richer and more complex than previous scholarly work on Native representations in museums, which were mostly decontextualized case studies.
Chapter 2, “Collaboration Matters,” explores the “hybrid tribal museum” created by the Minnesota Historical Society in collaboration with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. As an exhibit researcher in 1994, Lonetree witnessed the praxis of a new museum theory during a redesign process. Indigenous self-representation is apparent in the stated goals of the exhibit: to show contemporary Native life to counteract the notion that Indian people are from the ancient past; and to dispel American Indian stereotypes by privileging Mille Lacs Band perspectives on historical events. Lonetree describes the exhibition as conversational, engaging, “visitor friendly,” persuasive, and powerful. Text is in the first-person voice of specific Mille Lacs people, from oral histories and interviews. Interactive stations incorporate tribal members describing their work, in both Ojibwe and English. However, despite the significant collaboration, Lonetree argues that this museum has not yet achieved a decolonizing museum practice. The white traders who previously owned the museum are portrayed in a problematic display that avoids connecting their activities to ongoing white exploitation. The topic of colonialism is in fact muted throughout. Indeed, Lonetree wonders whether “the overall tone of the new exhibitions is to minimize controversy and to avoid confrontational topics” (56).
In chapter 3, “Exhibiting Native America at the National Museum of the American Indian,” Lonetree describes her experience in 2000 as a researcher during the planning process of a community-curated exhibition at the National Mall site. The intent of the museum was to “transfer curatorial authority to Indigenous people and thereby enable Native Americans to tell their own stories” (83). Exhibits focus on tribal philosophy, history, and identity, with twenty-four tribal communities’ voices central. Perhaps because of the respectful and authentic communication between the tribal communities and the museum staff, many tribal delegations decided to feature traditions and cosmology that had never before been consensually displayed in a museum. However, there were many critiques from scholars and museum visitors saying that the exhibitions failed to include an historical context of colonialism, repatriation, and reburial, and some even argued that the representations created a generic pan-Native stereotype. Lonetree considers this exhibit a missed opportunity, arguing that while the exhibits emphasize survivance, there is no context for survival. Additionally, exhibitions may be too challenging for visitors to understand; while the focus on Indigenous ways of knowing is thoughtful, most potential audience members are unable to engage with the subtle messages.
Finally, a successful decolonizing museum practice is analyzed in chapter 4, “Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways.” Lonetree first visited the Center in 2006 while attending a symposium on the reservation, and was immediately impressed with its explicit engagement with historical trauma and unresolved grief. The Center was formed after tribal members collaborated to address the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which passed in 1990. The Ziibiwing Cultural Society formed in 1993 to negotiate for the return of ancestors and funerary objects. After receiving a substantial award, the Center was able to hire permanent staff and develop a museum and cultural center space. The exhibitions privilege oral tradition and Anishinabe history and cosmology. Familiar U.S. policies are addressed, but always within a tribal framework. Colonization and its ongoing effects are presented directly, making the museum a “site of knowledge making and remembering” for the community (133). The Center also offers critical cultural programming to complement the gallery space. Educational programs include language, oral tradition, dance, regalia making, and plant gathering and medicine. Furthermore, the Cultural Society is still working collectively to repatriate ancestors and cultural objects; they see a strong need to decolonize NAGPRA.
In the concluding chapter, Lonetree states that her scholarship and work as a museum professional has been a learning experience in authentic engagement, humility, and dedication to decolonization. Decolonizing museum practice is a long process that occurs in stages, after significant activist work. The three museums discussed in this book are at different places in this process, and her critiques are meant to reflect the potential and work that still needs to be done. Each museum surveyed is important and she believes that they can become effective decolonizing agents.
My criticisms as a reader are few. Photographs aren’t particularly high quality. For a book so focused on visual representation, I expected more and higher-quality images. I would have liked to see more close-ups of specific displays discussed, as well as more distance shots showing sections in their entirety. The included images, however, are helpful and add much to the discussion. I also notice some repetition of phrasing that becomes tedious: the phrase “hard truths” is repeated four times in two pages. Finally, the word “survivance” is used several times before being defined. I would have appreciated seeing the explanation sooner; I initially thought it was a typo.
There is much more to be praised: the bibliography, for example, offers a rich array of both primary and secondary sources. Endnotes add depth, allowing me to explore further. I find the index very useful, particularly the hierarchical breakdowns and related terms. Throughout the book, Lonetree incorporates direct quotes from tribal members collaborating on exhibits and visiting museums. It’s clear that she is actively decolonizing her own scholarship. Furthermore, I find it very engaging how she discusses installations from the point of view of exhibit designer, Native scholar, museum visitor, and observer of other visitors. Powerful, multi-layered discussions allow me to “see” the exhibitions through different eyes. Finally, each time Lonetree introduces a person, whether that individual is a museum staff member or member of the public, she is tribally specific when she makes the identification. This really strengthens the message that Native Americans are not a monolith, one of the core intentions of decolonizing museum exhibits.
Decolonizing Museums is a challenging and, at times, heartbreaking text. Although relatively short, this is a book that demands time and consideration to digest. The writing is often dense with detail, and the reader needs an understanding of colonialism in anthropology and museum practices to fully grasp many of the arguments. I believe this book is best suited, and indeed should be mandatory reading, for graduate level anthropology, museum studies, arts administration, and history classes dealing with Native American cultures and representation. Working museum professionals will gain much from this book, as well. Lonetree draws on Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s work Decolonizing Methodologies as well as Ivan Karp et al.’s Museum Frictions; these would be excellent complementary texts.
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[Review length: 1270 words • Review posted on October 31, 2013]