Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion

Ethnic Fraud and Representation in Museums

Permalink: https://www.eventscribe.com/2019/AAMers/fsPopup.asp?mode=presInfo&PresentationID=490180

When curating the arts of disenfranchised communities, who is the authority—the curator, the artist, or the community represented? Several controversial projects have misrepresented or excluded American Indian or Indigenous communities. In an era when diversity is purportedly championed, this violation of trust has damaged the relationship between museums and Native communities. Panel speakers will present best practices for museum professionals interested in fair and accurate interpretations of American Indian and Indigenous communities.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify an effective measure to mandate federal recognition of American Indian, Alaskan Native, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit tribal documentation for inclusion in exhibitions.
• Identify the purpose of federal laws on American Indian and Indigenous arts.
• Recognize the threats ethnic fraud presents to Indigenous communities, and why changes are needed to increase inclusion of Indigenous Americans in museums.

Moderator(s)

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  Tahnee Ahtoneharjo-Growingthunder

  Museum Administrator, Curator, Cultural Advisor
  Oklahoma History Center, Kiowa Tribal Museum, & Wallraf Richartz Museum

Panelist(s)

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  Mario A. Caro

  Curator, Lecturer, Art, Culture, and Technology Graduate Program
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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  America Meredith

  Curator, Editor, Artist
  First American Art Magazine
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  Nancy Mithlo

  Curator, Professor of Gender Studies
  University of California Los Angeles