Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Power Of Voice: The Indian Arts Research Centers Identity Shift, Laura Elliff

American Studies ETDs

Over the past three decades and in a significant shift, museum professionals have been collaborating with tribal communities by incorporating their voices into the daily tasks of exhibition design, education, and programs, as well as collections care and storage. This study will examine the Indian Arts Research Center's history and identity by highlighting collaborative projects that have resulted in the inclusion of Native voices and in some cases a joint decision-making process, which I argue has shifted the IARC's institutional identity. In the past, the IARC collection has mostly been managed and created by non-Native people, and Native input was …