New Federal Rules May Require Public Museum to Remove Some Exhibits

Milwaukee Public Museum. Photo taken March 8th, 2017 by Jeramey Jannene.

The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) is reviewing whether it will need to remove or cover some Native American exhibits following new federal regulations that recently went into effect.

In December, the U.S. Department of Interior implemented new rules to achieve the goals of the 1990 Native American Graves and Repatriation Act. Importantly, one of the rules requires museums to “obtain free, prior and informed consent from lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and [Native Hawaiian Organizations]” before exhibiting or researching human remains or cultural items.

“Among the updates we are implementing are critical steps to strengthen the authority and role of Indigenous communities in the repatriation process,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement. “Finalizing these changes is an important part of laying the groundwork for the healing of our people.”

MPM has a number exhibits featuring Native American cultural items and a large inventory of these items in its collections. The museum has the 18th largest inventory of un-repatriated Native American remains in the U.S., according to a database assembled by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative news organization.

“MPM is thoughtfully reviewing the Native American cultural heritage items currently on display,” the museum said in a statement, “and in the coming weeks, will remove items from view or cover exhibits that do not comply with the latest NAGPRA regulations.”

The museum declined to say specifically which items or exhibits could be impacted.

Across the country, museums are removing or covering up Native American exhibits, the New York Times recently reported. The Field Museum in Chicago has covered up a handful of exhibits that the institution believes would fall within the ambit of the new regulations.

The impact on MPM will be relatively small compared to other museums that have had to close entire galleries, a spokesperson told Urban Milwaukee. This is because the museum began consulting with tribes before the new rules came down, the spokesperson said. Among the staff at MPM is a tribal liaison.

“MPM has reviewed the new NAGPRA regulations that address the exhibition of specific Native American cultural items and is committed to adhering to those regulations,” the museum said.

In 1993, the museum developed the exhibit “A Tribute to Survival,” which features a rotating contemporary powwow scene. The museum worked with Wisconsin tribal members to create the exhibit. In other areas of the museum, exhibits have been modified in response to tribal requests.

The Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was signed into law in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. The law recognized the rights of indigenous peoples to human remains, funerary objects, sacred items and objects of cultural significance. It also created a framework for their repatriation back to tribes and lineal descendants.

The new rules strengthen tribal authority in the repatriation process and set an expedited timeline for institutions to consult and update their inventories of human remains and funerary objects. This is an ongoing process for most institutions, including MPM.