The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
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INTEGRATING CULTURALLY SENSITIVE AND BEST MUSEUM PRACTICES AT TWO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MUSEUMS: THE PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE KARUK PEOPLE’S CENTER ____________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Chico ____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Master of Arts in Anthropology Museum Studies Option ____________ by © Hélène Rouvier 2010 Fall 2010 INTEGRATING CULTURALLY SENSITIVE AND BEST MUSEUM PRACTICES AT TWO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MUSEUMS: THE PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE KARUK PEOPLE’S CENTER A Thesis by Hélène Rouvier Fall 2010 APPROVED BY THE DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND VICE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH: Katie Milo, Ed.D. APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: _________________________________ Georgia L. Fox, Ph.D., Chair _________________________________ Stacy B. Schaefer, Ph.D. PUBLICATION RIGHTS No portion of this thesis may be reprinted or reproduced in any manner unacceptable to the usual copyright restrictions without the written permission of the author. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My graduate studies journey began in 2001 while completing my undergraduate program at the University of California Berkeley. Considering my career options as an older returning student, I was encouraged to first experience the real life world of cultural resource management, and to then pursue a graduate degree in the anthropological field of my choosing. For this advice and mentorship during a period of personal and professional change I am indebted to Professor Kent Lightfoot who reignited my passion for the field and who has continued to encourage and follow my graduate studies. Faculty, staff, and students in the California State University, Chico Department of Anthropology provided the support and gentle prodding to complete my graduate degree while working full time several hours distance from campus and classes. My thanks to graduate committee members Georgia Fox and Stacy Schaefer for helping to design my program, direct and focus my research interests, and provide invaluable advice on achieving those goals. I am also grateful for the academic rigor required by department faculty – their critiques have served me well in conducting research and analyzing the data gathered. My research agenda could not have been completed without the participation of the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology and the Karuk Tribe. My graduate internship at PAHMA was directed by Victoria Bradshaw, Head of Collections and iv Facilities; she provided the advice and direction needed to design my research survey. I am also grateful to North American Collections Manager Natasha Johnson for sharing her experience in collections management. I am deeply grateful to the Karuk Tribe for inviting my research as a guest in their culture. Karuk people openly shared their knowledge and experiences for this study, including Erin Hillman, Verna Reece, Terry Tripp, Yukon Sakota, André Cramblit, Susan Gehr, Frank Lake, and Leaf Hillman. Erin Hillman and Arch Super took time to review my drafts for accuracy and cultural sensitivity. I hope that my research gives back to the Karuk community as much as I have gained personally and professionally. Many thanks also to family and friends, who believed in my success and supported my decisions throughout. My son Joe and daughter Ruth have patiently indulged my return to college and a second career. My parents always supported my educational goals. Although they have both passed I expect I have made them proud. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Publication Rights ...................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... iv List of Figures............................................................................................................. viii Abstract....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. Introduction.............................................................................................. 1 II. Literature Review..................................................................................... 8 History of Museology................................................................... 8 Western Best Museum Practices .................................................. 11 Indigenous Perspectives ............................................................... 13 Theoretical Models in Museology................................................ 16 III. Development of Mainstream Museums.................................................... 23 Development of Curatorial Practices............................................ 28 Contemporary Museums in a Complex World............................. 33 IV. The Rise of Tribal Museums .................................................................... 36 Heritage: Tangible and Intangible................................................ 48 Voices of a Thousand People: The Makah Cultural and Research Center................................................................... 52 Mediating Knowledges: Origins of a Zuni Tribal Museum ......... 56 Two Examples, One Perspective.................................................. 60 V. Museological Theory and Shifting Paradigms ......................................... 63 vi CHAPTER PAGE VI. Methodology............................................................................................. 75 Survey for the Phoebe Hearst Museum........................................ 75 Survey for the Karuk People’s Center.......................................... 86 Quantitative and Qualitative Questions and Data ........................ 91 VII. The Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology ........................ 93 Response from Mainstream Museums ......................................... 98 Tribal Practices: Perspectives from Tribal Museums and Cultural Centers............................................................ 101 Other Tribal Commentaries.......................................................... 105 The Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology – From the Inside Out ............................................................................ 109 VIII. The Karuk People’s Center ...................................................................... 114 The People’s Center and the Karuk Community.......................... 122 Relationships with the Mainstream Museum World.................... 134 Qualitative and Quantitative Data: Community Responses ......... 138 IX. Analysis and Discussion........................................................................... 151 X. Concluding Remarks and Further Research............................................. 165 References .................................................................................................................. 171 Appendices A. Human Subjects Approval........................................................................ 183 B. Survey Questions...................................................................................... 186 C. Survey Summaries.................................................................................... 207 D. Permissions............................................................................................... 244 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Interior of Makah Cultural and Research Center, Neah Bay, Washington........................................................................................ 55 2. Map Showing Karuk Ancestral Territory ................................................. 115 3. Basketweavers for the Curio Trade Elizabeth and Louise Hickox at Orleans.............................................................................. 119 4. Trinket Basket by Elizabeth Hickox......................................................... 120 5. Karuk Dugout Showing Damage.............................................................. 126 6. Kishvoof Root in Dugout .......................................................................... 127 7. Loaned Necklace Showing Damage ......................................................... 129 8. Karuk White Deerskin Dance Before 1900 .............................................. 131 9. Baskets from the People’s Center Collection ........................................... 133 10. Terry’s Granddaughter, Isabell Gomez .................................................... 147 11. Cooking Acorn Soup at the Fall 2010 Baskeweavers Gathering.............. 149 viii ABSTRACT INTEGRATING CULTURALLY SENSITIVE AND BEST MUSEUM PRACTICES AT TWO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MUSEUMS: THE PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE KARUK PEOPLE’S CENTER by © Hélène Rouvier 2010 Master of Arts in Anthropology Museum Studies Option California State University, Chico Fall 2010 Contemporary museums are at a crossroads. Challenged by internal and external critiques, they are struggling to reinvent themselves and to remain relevant in a sociopolitical context of resource depletion, global conflict, and issues of human and civil rights. Issues of social and economic justice, and their accompanying legal mandates, are fueling demands of indigenous and source communities to be part of museum decision- making and discourse. This thesis focuses a lens on two museum experiences within the theoretical framework of museums as “contested arenas” in which cultures come into contact, collide,