An Intersectional Examination of the Portrayal of Native American Women in Wisconsin Museum Exhibits Erica Rodenbeck University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations December 2017 An Intersectional Examination of the Portrayal of Native American Women in Wisconsin Museum Exhibits Erica Rodenbeck University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Ethnic Studies Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Rodenbeck, Erica, "An Intersectional Examination of the Portrayal of Native American Women in Wisconsin Museum Exhibits" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 1685. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1685 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN INTERSECTIONAL EXAMINATION OF THE PORTRAYAL OF NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN IN WISCONSIN MUSEUM EXHIBITS by Erica Rodenbeck A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Anthropology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee December 2017 ABSTRACT AN INTERSECTIONAL EXAMINATION OF THE PORTRAYAL OF NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN IN WISCONSIN MUSEUM EXHIBITS by Erica Rodenbeck The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017 Under the Supervision of Professor W. Warner Wood This project examines how White curators at four museums in Wisconsin portray Native American women based on a number of institutional and individual curatorial choices. Intersectional Theory is used to explore how museums and museum professionals navigate questions of representation of a traditionally marginalized group. It places specific emphasis on the relationship between Community Curation and Intersectional Theory and explores whether or not the involvement of Native groups noticeably impacts representation of Native American women. The study examines the exhibits of four museums: The Abel Public Museum, The New Canton College of Anthropology, The Pineville Public Museum, and The Wisconsin Museum of Natural History. These institutions vary in size, scope, audience, and curatorial strategies. However, they all have exhibits that depict Native Americans. Museum professionals from each institution were also interviewed to better understand how individual embodiments of particular Intersections of identity do or do not impact curatorial philosophies. In addition, the questions of ii bias, authority, and perspective are also evaluated in conjunction with critical approaches to museology. Finally, it explores some of the ways in which these structures uphold existing frameworks of colonialism and White supremacy and how Intersectional museum exhibits can be developed to combat these paradigms and ensure more diverse and accurate representation. iii © Copyright by Erica Rodenbeck, 2017 All Rights Reserved iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………………..1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………1 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………..6 Chapter 2: Intersectional Theory …………………...…………………………………………10 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………10 Rise of Intersectional Theory…………………………………………………………………….11 Native Americans and Intersectional Theory……………………………………………………17 Intersectional Theory in Anthropology and Museums………………………………………………………………………………………....21 Intersectionality in Popular Culture…………………………………………………………..….33 Criticisms and Limitations of Intersectional Theory…………………………………………….43 Chapter 3: Critical Museology and Community Curation ………………………….……….47 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………47 History and Overview ……………………...……………………………………………………47 Examples of Community Curation………………………………………………………………51 Chapter 4: Site Descriptions …………………………………...……………………………...60 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………60 The Abel Public Museum…………………………………………..……………………………60 The Pineville Public Museum……………………………………………………………………65 The Wisconsin Museum of Natural History..……………………………………………………70 The New Canton College Museum of Anthropology…………………………………………………………………………………….87 Chapter 5: The Museum Professionals ………………………………..……………………....91 v Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………...91 Descriptions……………………………………………………………………………………..92 Angela: Director at the Abel Public Museum…………………………………………………..92 Tom: Director at the Pineville Public Museum…………………………………………………………………………………..…......93 Natasha: Curator of Anthropology Collections at the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History…………………………………………………………………………………….….….94 Steve: Curator of Exhibits and Education at the New Canton College Museum of Anthropology……………………………………………………………………………….…....94 Museum Professionals and Gender………………………………………………………………………...……………...…..95 Museum Professionals and Race…………………………………………………………………………….……………..….99 Museum Professionals and Community Curation……………………………………………………………………………….….……..102 Chapter 6: Exhibit Analysis ……………………………………………………….....……….107 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….107 Depiction of Gender…………………………………………………………………….……...107 The Abel Public Museum……………………………………………………………………...109 The Pineville Public Museum…………………………………………………………………111 The Wisconsin Museum of Natural History…………………………………………………..127 The New Canton College Museum of Anthropology…………………………………………136 Depictions of Race…………………………………………………………………………….140 The Abel Public Museum……………………………………………………………………..141 The Pineville Public Museum…………………………………………………………………143 The Wisconsin Museum of Natural History…………………………………………………...145 vi The New Canton College Museum of Anthropology…………………………………………147 Community Curation………………………………………………………………………….152 The Abel Public Museum……………………………………………………………………..156 The Pineville Public Museum………………………………………………………………...156 The Wisconsin Museum of Natural History………………………………………………….157 The New Canton College Museum of Anthropology……………………………………...…158 Chapter Seven: Discussion …………,………………………………………………………159 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………...159 Bias……………………………………………………………………………………………161 Authority………………………………………………………………………………………163 Implications……………………………………………………………………………………168 Applications……………………………………………………………………………………171 Chapter Eight: Conclusion …………………………………………………………………..176 References……………………………………………………………………………………...184 Appendix: Interview Questions………………………………………………………………...196 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 . GoogleBooks Ngram graph demonstrating the number of times the word ‘Intersectionality’ appears in a given work from 1970 to 2000………………………….17 Figure 2.2. GoogleTrends graph demonstrating the increase in searches for Intersectionality (blue) and Intersectional Feminism (red) from October 1, 2004 to October 1, 2017...….35 Figure 4.1. Rough layout of Abel Public Museum with the Native American exhibits highlighted in yellow ……….………………………………..………………………….63 Figure 4.2. Primary display case from the Native American exhibit at the Abel Public Museum.…………………………………………………………………………..……..63 Figure 4.3. Case from the Abel Public Museum focusing on Plains Native American objects...65 Figure 4.4. Rough outline of the Pineville Public Museum floorplan with Native American exhibit areas highlighted in yellow…………...………………..………………………...67 Figure 4.5. A woman listens as a man tells a story in the Winter section of the Four Seasons exhibit at the Pineville Public Museum……………………………………………….…68 Figure 4.6. A man spearfishing in the Spring section of the Four Seasons exhibit at the Pineville Public Museum……………………………………………..……………………………69 Figure 4.7. Two women gathering plants and talking in the Summer section of the Four Seasons exhibit at the Pineville Public Museum………………………………………………….69 Figure 4.8. A woman watches as a young boy processes wild rice in the Autumn section of the Four Seasons exhibit at the Pineville Public Museum……………………………….…..70 Figure 4.9. Rough outline of the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History second floor floorplan with Native American exhibit areas highlighted in yellow……………………...………71 Figure 4.10. A portion of the Powwow diorama at the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History…………………………………………………………………………………..72 Figure 4.11. Example of label from the Accolades of Endurance exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History……………………………………………………………...73 Figure 4.12. The Bison Hunt diorama at the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History…………..74 Figure 4.13. A man and woman speak in the Wisconsin Woodlands exhibit at the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History……………………………………………………………...76 Figure 4.14. A seated Iroquois man smokes a pipe in the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History’s Native American exhibits……………………………………………………..79 Figure 4.15. “The Seminole Today” label at the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History…...…81 Figure 4.16. Rough outline of the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History third floor floorplan with Native American exhibit areas highlighted in yellow…..…………………………………86 Figure 4.17. An example of a diorama from the Wisconsin Museum of Natural History’s exhibits about European contact and trade…………………………….……..…………………87 Figure 4.18. New Canton College Museum of Anthropology first floor floorplan with Native American exhibit areas highlighted in yellow………………………………………...…89 viii Figure 4.19. New Canton College Museum of Anthropology second floor floorplan with Native American exhibit areas highlighted in yellow……………………..…………………….90 Figure 5.1. Graph from 2009 AAM study about demographic composition of museum field….92 Figure 6.1. The exhibit label next to a cradle board with an illustration of a Native American woman………………………………………………………………….…………….…110