The Changing Museum

Find out about the past, present, and future of representing cultures at the American Museum of Natural History in the new exhibition The Changing Museum.Why did two Native American Halls close?In early 2024, the Museum closed the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains halls in response to changes to the regulations that implement the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)—and because they did not respect the values and perspectives of Indigenous peoples. The updated regulations now require consent from Indigenous communities to display, access, or research certain sensitive cultural items. Some of these items may have been included among the hundreds of items in the halls, prompting the closures. The Changing Museum is located at the entrance to the former Hall of Eastern Woodlands, which closed in January 2024. Alvaro Keding/© AMNH "The halls we closed are vestiges of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives, and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples. Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others."– Sean Decatur, President, American Museum of Natural HistoryWhat is NAGPRA?This 1990 law allows lineal descendants, federally recognized tribes, and Native Hawaiian Organizations in the U.S. to seek the return of cultural items and ancestral remains from institutions that receive government funding, including this one.Items eligible for return under NAGPRA are:human remains burial objectssacred objects, needed for current religious practicesobjects of cultural patrimony (of such central importance that no individual had the right to remove them from the community)Other items are not subject to return under NAGPRA, although they may be returned through other arrangements. Addressing the Museum’s Collecting HistoryDuring the 19th and early 20th century, anthropologists, government agents, and even members of the public filled shelves of American universities and museums, including this one. Human remains and grave offerings were collected, along with oral histories, photos, body measurements, cultural objects of all kinds, and archaeological material. Viewed by today’s standards, these unethical collecting practices have necessitated the recent returns of human remains and certain cultural objects to descendant communities.While the Museum’s collecting practices have changed, caring for, and sometimes returning, these invaluable historical collections remains an unfinished responsibility. Consultation is an ongoing endeavor, and the Cultural Resources Office facilitates repatriation activities for the Museum. Show Transcript [Members of a delegation from the Tohono O’odham Nation carry an artifact wrapped in plastic from a crate to a table inside the Museum’s Anthropology collections space.]OFF-SCREEN VOICE: [Speaks Native language] Eagle? You think those are eagle feathers?[Delegation members remove a large feathered headdress from the plastic wrapping and lay it on a table with other pieces.] [SAMUEL FAYUANT speaks to camera from the Museum's Anthropology wing:]SAMUEL FAYUANT (Tohono O’Odham Nation Cultural Affairs Specialist): Spiritually, you know, we think when we bring the artifacts back, we're bringing the person back home. [Delegation members compare an old black-and-white photograph of a person wearing a costume with the costume pieces laid out on the table] FAYUANT: It's very touching, you know, because for us having a person put on the costume, that becomes the person. [Fayuant speaks to camera:]FAYUANT: My name is Samuel Fayuant. I'm a member of Tohono O’odham nation in southern Arizona. [Montage of Fayuant discussing various artifacts with the other delegation members.]FAYUANT: I currently work for the Cultural Affairs Tribal Historic Preservation Office. And it has given me the opportunity to come into New York and start working on repatriation of our sacred items at the American Museum Natural History, New York.[SUBDUED XYLOPHONE MUSIC][The Museum’s logo unfurls over footage of the Museum’s Anthropology collections storage. First, a long hallway with tall wood and glass cabinets. Then, a room full of storage compactors with some artifacts laid out on a table]NELL MURPHY (DIRECTOR OF CULTURAL RESOURCES): The Division of Anthropology houses an extensive collection of ethnographic material from all over the country.[A closed wooden office door bears the words “Cultural Resources Office” with two nameplates beneath: one reads “Nell Murphy” and the other “Kathryn Sabella.”][Nell Murphy types at a computer in her office.]MURPHY: The Cultural Resources Office oversees all repatriation activities for the American Museum of Natural History.[Murphy speaks to camera at a table in the Cultural Resources Office.]MURPHY: Generally spe