Museums across the continent are being called on to work with Indigenous communities to reframe installations, shift collecting practices, and recognize the vitality and diversity of contemporary Indigenous art. This symposium offers a public forum for Indigenous cultural leaders to discuss strategies for actively reshaping museum practice.
This conference is the second International Observatory for Cultural Heritage Symposium on Indigenous American cultural heritage and comes a year after “Threatened Heritage: Bears Ears, Chaco, and Beyond.†Like its predecessor, “Reclaiming†brings together Indigenous cultural leaders from around North America in an event focused on building connections and taking action.
Welcoming Remarks: David Freedberg (Columbia University);
Samuel Slater (Columbia University)
Introduction: Elizabeth Hutchinson (Barnard College/Columbia University)
Panel I: Curating against Colonialism
heather ahtone (Choctaw/Chickasaw; American Indian Cultural Center & Museum): "Shifting the Paradigm: Indigenous Perspectives on Researching and Exhibiting Our Cultures/Art"
Sherry Farrell Racette (Algonquin/Metis/Irish; University of Regina, Saskatchewan): "Red Dresses and Moccasin Vamps: Art, Community Engagement and Social Change"
Scott Stevens (Akwesasne Mohawk; Syracuse University)
Brian Vallo (Governor, Acoma Pueblo; formerly Indian Arts Research Center, School of Advanced Research)
Moderator: Elizabeth Hutchinson (Barnard College/Columbia University)
Panel II: Creating and Collections (Artists' Panel)
Teri Greeves (Kiowa; Santa Fe, New Mexico): "Bearing Witness"
Sonya Kelliher-Combs (Athabascan, Iñupiat; Anchorage, Alaska): "Museum Interventions"
Jason Lujan (Brooklyn, New York): "Against Contemporary Native Art Always Being Read as Social Realism"
Crystal Migwans (Anishinaabe of Wiikwmikoong Unceded Territory; Ottawa, Ontario; Columbia University): "Repatriating a Practice"
Moderator: Hiʻilei Julia Hobart (Columbia University)
Organizer: Elizabeth Hutchinson (Barnard College/Columbia University)
