Description

A first-time grantee, the First Americans Museum (FAM) will undertake a project that grows out of its 2022 inaugural exhibition, “WINIKO: Life of an Object,” and a curatorial framework that reunites objects collected by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) over a century ago with their people and cultures. Operating on the belief that the process benefits tribal nations and collecting institutions and produces new knowledge, FAM will create a publication and feature film to model and share this emergent best practice for museum professionals, cultural community members, and museum audiences. As a first step, FAM will relocate its Reunion Theater more centrally in the suite of permanent galleries. FAM will partner with 39 tribal nations and community members, and NMAI, to produce a handbook on the complex work and cultural protocols of reunions, and a film for more general audiences.  
This grant aligns with the AAP’s strategic goal 1a: To advance innovative museum projects that prioritize representation and equity through the preservation, study, and presentation of work by under-represented artists of color, collaborations with diverse external partners, and outreach to underserved communities.