Of all the influences on the evolution of museums in recent history, one of the most significant, yet underappreciated, is that of Native American peoples. In 1990, this activism helped drive passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Over the last two decades, NAGPRA has had notable effects on the way museums present and preserve their artifacts. In her essay “What is the Object of This Exercise? A Meandering Exploration of the Many Meanings of Objects in Museums,” historian Elaine Heumman Gurian argues that this activism has changed our understanding of what counts as a museum “artifact,” something that had previously been taken for granted as unproblematic. I was struck by the effort that indigenous communities have put forward in the last four decades to reclaim their own history and the manner in which they are represented in museums. What effects have Native American groups had on the development of museums, specifically in areas such as presentation and preservation in museums? Continue reading →