New ways of looking at the past: Archaeological education at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

Abstract

The Houston Museum of Natural Science initiated a variety of programs aimed at educating patrons about the Hall of the Americas after it opened in 1998. In the Hall, Native American cultures are explored through the science of anthropology. Consultation with Native Americans was part of the development and installation of exhibits but faded into the background after the opening. The educational programs brought Native Americans into active partnership with the museum once again. Programs included teacher workshops, artistic demonstrations, scholarly lectures, symposia, and festivals. Each program educated the public about how archaeology illuminates the Native American past and how modern Native American peoples link to the past. These programs presented archaeology as a useful means of understanding the past with equal input and insight from the Native American community. This approach helped the museum address certain problematic areas for Native peoples such as stereotyping and racism and brought new cultural awareness to many visitors. Historically, American museums built collections of Native American objects with little consultation with the communities from which the objects were drawn. The period of collecting that occurred in the early part of the twentieth century was influenced by the prevailing stereotype of Indian communities. Coming some 20 years after the end of the so-called Indian wars, it was commonly thought that these communities ere near the end of their existence (Bieder, 1986). This image of "the vanishing Indian" was reflected in many areas of popular and academic thought (Berkhofer, 1978). It continues to this day and is often reinforced through well-intentioned educational activities that focus on the Native American past to the exclusion of the present (Hirschfelder, 1982). Another idea persists that contemporary Indian groups are not "authentic" unless they live and act in the ways that their ancestors did. Many people are unwilling to accept that Native Americans live in ways no different than those of the rest of the population. Tipis are not the most prevalent housing style, nor do most Native people ride horses to get where they are going. These stereotypes often dominate the world of children and it is quite common to encounter them when talking to school groups (Hirschfelder, 1982; Slapin and Seale, 1998). In the 1960s, Native Americans began to expand their social and political powers. Tribes had a strong impact on legislation at both the state and federal levels. Consultation with Indian people on a variety of issues began to take place. These struggles led to the Red Power movement of the 1970s and eventually to the passage of numerous laws that affect the relations between museums, anthropologists, archaeologists, and Native Americans. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) has had a wide-reaching effect. In the post-NAGPRA era, archaeology as a discipline was challenged to accept the relevance that modern Native perspectives have for archaeological study. In most cases, archaeologists have accepted this new situation (Swidler et al., 1997). Many new studies and projects are enhanced through consultation. This new attitude toward Native input has also affected the museum world and museum education (Connolly, 2000). While the museum community may have been prompted by NAGPRA, it moved beyond requirements mandated by the law to benefit from the voices and experiences of Native Americans.