Natural history museums have always struggled with representing Native Americans. People from these communities are often not included in the process, and their artifacts can be mishandled. But the Field Museum in Chicago, in partnership with the Neubauer Collegium, is trying to change that. Along with the first large-scale show to be curated by an Indigenous person, the Field is overhauling its Native North American Hall, to address the insensitive past of many natural history museums.
Since their inception, natural history museums have struggled with how to represent Native Americans and their culture. People from these communities are often not included in the conversation, and their artifacts can be mishandled. But the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, in partnership with the Neubauer Collegium at the University of Chicago, is trying to change that.
A historic exhibition, Apsáalooke Women and Warriors, is the first large-scale show to be curated by an Indigenous person. Along with an overhaul of its Native North American Hall, the Field Museum is trying to address the racially insensitive past of many natural history museums by including Native Americans in the process.