Monday, September 19, 2022
I’ve finally finished sorting through all of my conference paperwork, exhibitor info, and 18 pages of notes from the sessions I attended. Here’s most of what I attended, and in the spirit of transparency, some of what I’m thinking about:
Myth of the Comfort Zone (George Washington’s Mount Vernon, National Civil Rights Museum, Longue Vue House and Gardens, National Musuem of the American Indian Smithsonian Institution)
- disrupting longtime narratives is difficult
- both comfort and discomfort are necessary for learning
- can’t talk about difficult subjects unless staff, educators and docents are comfortable doing so
- the fact that there are no easy answers can be frustrating for visitors
- offer opportunities for visitor reflection and response
- must set foundational truths for education policies as an organization
- be prepared to lose some people
Centering Authentic Indigenous Voices and History in Planning and Programming for the
250th Commemoration (Rick Hill, New York State Museum, Seneca Art & Cultural Center at Ganondagan, Dept of Africana and American Studies SUNY Buffalo, Onohsagwe:de Cultural Center)
- it can’t just be on the shoulders of Indigenous People to interpret and tell their stories
- consider that Native People like to “cover the grave” – to continue to pick at the scabs of their wounds, relive the death of their people over and over, is depressing. Instead, share their cultural persistence, sovereignty survival
- remember we are “commemorating” the 250th, not “celebrating.” After all, 1776 is when women, Indigenous and Blacks were left behind…
Check Out and Check in! Engaging Primary Source Literacy through a Semi-Virtual Game Experience (Georgia Southern University)
- So much fun! What a great way for middle- and high-schoolers to learn about primary sources. Loads of ideas already to make this an earned income reality, as field trips.
- joint task force: Primary Source Literacy Guidelines
Shifting Our Thoughts on Earned Revenue (Florence Griswold Museum, Eiteljorg Museum, Longue Vue House and Gardens)
- post-pandemic, raise your fees!
- consider eliminating discounts by category (i.e. seniors, students), as they are not entirely inclusive and continue to not prioritize historically underrepresented groups. Instead, consider offering “pay as you wish”
- merchandising!
- readapt spaces you already have for income opportunities, i.e. “micro-events”
- photography policies
- policies around group attendance (i.e. Nowashe “free for all” days)
- create perceived value
- monetize everything
Erasure of History & Power of Place: A Conversation (Fort Monroe National Monument, Preservation Buffalo Niagara, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, National Trust for Historic Preservation)
- paraphrasing: when we look back, the historic preservation movement of the 21st century might look like, or should be, about social justice
Keeping it Local: Bringing the Revolution to Your Neighborhood (New Jersey Historical Commission, America250 Foundation, Massachusetts Historical Society)
- we will need to manage through political polarizations
- who defines a hero?
- much of the story of the American Revolution is self-selection
- what is missing from the history we know or have recorded? what has been erased?
- the 250th should inspire a new movement of civic engagement, to create new legacies
Navigating NAGPRA: Relationship Building and Repatriation (Delaware Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office, New Jersey State Museum, Pennsbury Manor)
- federal law – Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
- any institution receiving federal funding must comply
- only federally recognized tribal nations can claim
- transfer of control needs a lot of thought
- inherent mistrust within tribal communities of museums, anthropology and archaeology practices
- “I hate when people tell my history to me”
- “Ask, and then listen.”
- “if it takes longer, that’s ok to make sure it’s done right”
- some tribes will do “sympathetic repatriation” of “unaffiliated remains”
Saturday, September 17, 2022
Well, Liz and Jess are already off on their full day bus tour of the Seneca Nation – there is a jam-packed day plan courtesy of AASLH. Can’t wiat to hear about it. I wonder if Jess is already asleep on the bus, because I’m still so exhausted that I haven’t yet left my hotel room for coffee!
Will mention the presentations I attended yesterday – there were many – but for now will post some of the gorgeous images I’ve taken of Buffalo. We had no idea how historical and architecturally fascinating Buffalo was. Did you know that Nikola Tesla came here, and after assisting with harnessing the power of Niagara Falls, Buffalo became the first electrified city in the world? Buffalo was once one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the U.S., and the home of two Presidents. The steam-powered grain elevator was invented here.
However, it was also the site of McKinley’s assassination, and was and still is to an extent, one of the most segretaed cities in America.
Friday, September 16, 2022
So many ideas from today’s presenations!!
But for now just a quick update as we have finally returned out our hotel rooms for a quick break before our big awards presentation in the ballroom!
Today was museum / history t-shirt day. In preparation, I purchased this t-shirt last weekend from one of our most important consultants and educators, Annawon Weeden, when he was up at Nowashe. This morning I did a double check with some of our other Indigenous educators to make sure it was culturally appropriate for me to wear as a non-Native person. It was a go so I paired it with my wampum ring from Red Rock Designs. It was a hit today! So much so, in fact, that I
was pulled aside by AASLH staff this afternoon to pick a prize! I chose this really neat book as toys as object of historical storytelling. I had been eyeing it up in the exhibit hall.
Now to get ready for the awards!!
Yay for us! Professional photos coming soon, we’re told. These were taken by fellow award winners.
We were one of two Awards of Excellence for organizations in the state of Connecticut. Of the Awards of Excellence, less than 5% are chosen for History in Progress Awards, which the awards chair called “the very best of the best.”
The Awards Committee also presents the History in Progress (HIP) Award, a special additional award for an Award of Excellence winner whose nomination is highly inspirational, exhibits exceptional scholarship, and/or is exceedingly entrepreneurial in terms of funding, partnerships, or collaborations, creative problem solving, or unusual project design and inclusiveness. This is an award made at the discretion of the Awards Committee.
Thursday, September 15, 2022
So much to report!!
Firstly, our presentation went great! It was really such an honor, especially to be introduced as “triple-award winners.” It lasted about 20 minutes and was titled “Representing Indigenous History Through the Power of Place.” Power of Place is the conference theme this year, the first of five designed intentionally to lead up to the semiquinsentennial (aka America’s 250th anniversary). We had some questions and interesting conversations afterwards. Now we’re all exhausted and are going to sleep well tonight. Did I mention that we were a small museums scholarship winner as well? Those were recognized during the luncheon as well – I applied with an essay and we received $700 towards our expenses to attend the conference.
The plan is for Liz and Jess to share some of their conference experiences as well. But since I’m the only one with a laptop here, you’re only hearing from me for now.
We had three sessions today in addition to the small museums luncheon when we presented. One was the plenary session with key note speaker Rick Hill, a citizen of the Beaver Clan of the Tuscarora Nation of the Haudenosaunee. He is an accomplished museum director, professor and artist, having worked all over the country. How lucky were we that the key note speaker was Indigenous and talked about the Power of Place?
Rick was also on a panel in the afternoon session that all three of us attended: Centering Authentic Indigenous Voices and History in Planning and Programming for the 250th Commemoration. The three other Indigenous panelists were equally impressive, and were joined by the New York State Historian. What a fascinating conversation they had – different, I think than what conference hosts had in mind. By and large the consensus was that they would rather the semiquin explore how their culture has lasted than relive more death, fighting and broken promises. They do not want the semiquin to focus on Indigenous People for a brief moment in time only to revert back to leaving them out of conversations. One called for the difference between “celebrating” the semiquin versus “commemorating” it. We’re already thinking about the semiquin ourselves, so I’m really glad we had this experience now.
Lastly, I attended a session today called The Myth of the Comfort Zone. This panel consisted of leaders from George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, Longue Vue House and Gardens and the National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Institute. A really impressive array of women! This session was all about how these different sites deal with uncomfortable history. Really fascinating.
Can you tell I’m tired? Maybe more in the morning!
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
We’re here! Our journey was fairly uneventful – just hundreds of miles straight on I-90. Beautiful scenery – lots of deer, cows and corn. We’re all excited to learn about the Erie Canal, one of Buffalo’s historical claim-to-fames, having followed it the entire way from Albany, where it meets the Hudson River. From the New York State Thruway, we saw it often, including some of its famous locks. While sitting in the backseat during Liz’s stretch to drive, I randomly looked for a place to grab lunch about a half hour ahead of us, and fortuitously found a spot where we able to have a sandwich right on the canal itself. Turns out we had stopped in Herkimer, NY, home to the famous Herkimer Diamonds.
The pier/restaurant also had a retail store, filled with more Wizard of Oz stuff I’d ever seen – turns out Frank L. Baum grew up outside of Syracuse. It is also the sister store of the famous Herkimer Diamond mine. Our quick pit stop turned into a little bit of shopping for all three of us… As I read up on Herkimer Diamonds back in the car (which are technically double-terminated quartz crystals, found naturally faceted straight out of the ground), I came across a similar northeastern find – Cape May Diamonds. In this case, quartz flows down the Delaware River and is polished and smoothed out naturally into sparkling pebbles, usually found on beaches. The Indigenous Kechemeche nation actually used Cape May Diamonds (as they’re known today) for trading, perhaps similar to how wampum was used.
We’re each now in our rooms for the night, downloading the conference app to set our schedules for the next several days. And, I’m running through our Small Museums Luncheon presentation one more time. We counted tonight over dinner, identifying two dozen Indigenous People who helped us on our journey over the past several years to design and implement Nowashe Village into what it is today. Nearly all of them have been paid as consultants, for educational items or construction work completed in the Village, or as on-site educators. We woudn’t be here without them, and we are proud to support them personally and their cultural lifeways.
More tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
In preparation for our presentation at the Small Museums Luncheon, this summer I took part in an interview with Julia Grey of the Wilson Museum (Castine, ME) and the Small Museums Affinity Committees. Read it here!
Monday, September 12, 2022
In just a few days the Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum will attend its first national conference in Buffalo, NY. For three days staff will take part in workshops and networking, accept a major national award and present to an audience of more than 80 at the Small Museums Luncheon. We couldn’t be more excited! Follow along on our adventure with us this week to the annual American Association of State and Local History conference. We’ll be posting to this blog as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
Who’s Going?
Carolyn Venne (Executive Director), Jess Vogelgesang (Communications Director) and Liz Glaviano (Education Director). Archivist Leith Johnson is graciously holding open hours at Wood on Thursday and overseeing our Taino lecture on Saturday (or maybe we’re too nutty to travel with?).
The Scheulde
We leave on Wednesday to drive to Buffalo. Thursday is workshops, plenery session, our presentation at the Small Museums Luncheon. Friday is more workshops and the Awards Dinner. On Saturday, Liz and Jess travel to the Seneca reservation for the whole day! Carolyn will participate in more workshops in the morning and take a bus trip in the afternoon for a short visit to Niagara Falls. Then it’s back on the road on Sunday to head home (with a potential side trip to the Iroquois Museum in Howes Caves, NY).
We’re Excited!
The conference attendee list was released on Friday and it’s a who’s who of the top history museums in the U.S. These include Mount Vernon, Monticello, The Obama Foundation, and The Henry Ford, organizations I’ve read about extensively like The Ohio History Connection, Eastern State Penitentiary, and of course, neighbors like Connecticut Historical Society and the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum. It’s an honor to be among history professionals from across the country, and we’re all very excited!