Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Leipzig, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 399-448) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Anthropology, 2005. / Adviser: Joelle Bahloul. UMI # 3199412 Includes bibliographical references. Bibliography: p. 201-219.

In the last two decades, a shift in the museological paradigm has changed the way in which Native American history and culture is interpreted and represented to the general public. As legal mandates and growing institutional pressures increasingly call for the integration of tribal representatives into the decision-making bodies of museums and authoritative institutions, cross-cultural collaboration and partnerships have increased significantly. With little precedent guiding public historians and museum professionals through this new and complex system of collaboration, the path unfolding in the journey towards the “indigenization”; of museums has been marked with achievements and challenges that have both taught and tested historical professionals. The following is a case study that examines the ways in which this unfolding shift in Native American representation manifested itself in the reconstruction of a Chinookan plankhouse in the early 21st century. With a common objective of educating visitors about the significant cultural and natural history of the former site of the Cathlapotle village, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Chinook Indian Nation teamed up to design, fund, construct and interpret the Cathlapotle Plankhouse in Ridgefield, Washington. Despite sharing a common goal for the reconstruction of a full-scale Chinookan plankhouse, different motivations and agendas guided the decision-making process and required both partners to make compromises that challenged each other’s understanding and expectations of the project. In this work, I analyze how these two organizations navigated the rewarding yet challenging realm of cross-cultural collaboration to create a meaningful and significant heritage site for a wide range of user groups. From this analysis, I hope to provide public historians and museum professionals a detailed example of a cross-cultural partnership that will assist them as they move forward through a continuously unfolding and largely uncharted system of collaboration.

This thesis is a critical study of two exhibits, First Encounters Spanish Exploration in the Caribbean and A Tribute to Survival. The objective of the thesis was to understand if and how indigenous activists, using the media as tool, were able to change curatorial approaches to exhibition development. Chapter 1 is broken into three sections. The first section introduces the exhibits and succinctly discusses the theory that is applied to this thesis. The second section discusses the objectives of the project and the third provides a brief outline of the document. Chapter 2 discusses the historical background of American museums in an attempt to highlight changes in curatorial attitudes towards the public, display, interpretation, and authority. Chapter 3 gives a more in-depth overview of the methodology and materials utilized in the thesis. Chapter 4 is a critical analysis of the literature for both First Encounters and A Tribute to Survival. Chapter five is a summary of the thesis and offers a conclusion of the effectiveness of using the media as a tool. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

In order to illustrate why museums are frequently sites of conflict and mediation, this dissertation examines the complex conditions under which knowledge is produced and disseminated at three Canadian museums. Approaching museums as social arenas or contact zones, the dissertation exposes power struggles in museums and dislodges a whole set of assumptions about what museums are and how they function. For the study I selected the following museums with anthropological mandates: MacBride Museum (Whitehorse), Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (Yellowknife), and Vancouver Museum (Vancouver). The three museums were chosen because their geographical proximity to large communities of Aboriginal Peoples enabled an exploration of the changing relationships between them. Historically, museums have held the power to classify and define Aboriginal Peoples. Relatively recently, however Aboriginal Peoples have in various ways (by imposing constraints on how they and their cultures are exhibited, and through land claims and repatriation requests) been challenging their historic relationships with museums. In chapter one I discuss my objectives, methodology, and the work of those scholars who shaped this dissertation. Chapter two explores the invention of museums in the western world and begins linking the three Canadian museums with knowledge and power. In chapters three, four, and five I portray the mobility and productivity of three museums (MacBride Museum, PWNHC, and Vancouver Museum) in three distinct regions of Canada. I illustrate their ability to articulate identity, power, and tradition as well as the role they perform in the social organization of power relations. Each chapter begins with a description of the historical roots of power relations at each institution. This leads into a discussion of each museum's present system of authority: the state, governing bodies, professional staff and, increasingly, Aboriginal representatives. In the process I reveal some of the political pressures, institutional hierarchies, and personal conflicts that shape knowledge within these institutions. Chapter six is a review and critical analysis of systems of authority of the three museums and the challenges presented by Aboriginal Peoples. I conclude with the issues raised at the outset, which continue to confront the Canadian museum community, issues of inclusion and the limitations of cross-cultural translation, repatriation, and representation.

In order to illustrate why museums are frequently sites of conflict and mediation, this dissertation examines the complex conditions under which knowledge is produced and disseminated at three Canadian museums. Approaching museums as social arenas or contact zones, the dissertation exposes power struggles in museums and dislodges a whole set of assumptions about what museums are and how they function. For the study I selected the following museums with anthropological mandates: MacBride Museum (Whitehorse), Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (Yellowknife), and Vancouver Museum (Vancouver). The three museums were chosen because their geographical proximity to large communities of Aboriginal Peoples enabled an exploration of the changing relationships between them. Historically, museums have held the power to classify and define Aboriginal Peoples. Relatively recently, however Aboriginal Peoples have in various ways (by imposing constraints on how they and their cultures are exhibited, and through land claims and repatriation requests) been challenging their historic relationships with museums. In chapter one I discuss my objectives, methodology, and the work of those scholars who shaped this dissertation. Chapter two explores the invention of museums in the western world and begins linking the three Canadian museums with knowledge and power. In chapters three, four, and five I portray the mobility and productivity of three museums (MacBride Museum, PWNHC, and Vancouver Museum) in three distinct regions of Canada. I illustrate their ability to articulate identity, power, and tradition as well as the role they perform in the social organization of power relations. Each chapter begins with a description of the historical roots of power relations at each institution. This leads into a discussion of each museum's present system of authority: the state, governing bodies, professional staff and, increasingly, Aboriginal representatives. In the process I reveal some of the political pressures, institutional hierarchies, and personal conflicts that shape knowledge within these institutions. Chapter six is a review and critical analysis of systems of authority of the three museums and the challenges presented by Aboriginal Peoples. I conclude with the issues raised at the outset, which continue to confront the Canadian museum community, issues of inclusion and the limitations of cross-cultural translation, repatriation, and representation. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate