Thursday, October 13, 10:30 am–12:30 pm
Oklahoma South
This live event will not be recorded.
Sponsored by the Folklore and Museums Section
Chair: C. Kurt Dewhurst (Michigan State University)
10:30 am
Material Culture and Indigenous Knowledge: Community Engagement and the Southern Plains Beadwork Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Michael Jordan (Texas Tech University)
11:00 am
Best Practices: Engaging Community and Changing the Narrative
Christina Burke (Philbrook Museum of Art)
11:30 am
Reciprocity and Community Engagement in Building and Using Museum Collections Representing Ethnic Communities of Southwest China and Mainland Southeast Asia
C. Kurt Dewhurst (Michigan State University) and Marsha L. MacDowell (Michigan State University)
12:00 pm
optional discussion time
The social contract between museums and the communities they serve is being renegotiated in many settings and entails addressing every element of museum practice. Using examples of collaborations with Native Americans and communities in Southwest China and Mainland Southeast Asia, this session will focus on ways in which folklorists and cultural heritage workers based in or working with museums are testing models for changes largely related to collections. These include addressing who collects and why; how collections are formed; how collections are cared for and by whom; who has access to collections; and how collections are interpreted and used.