Tribal consultation shapes new Penn Museum gallery
Native consulting curators helped shape a new permanent gallery at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia that centers Indigenous voices and presents Native people as living communities. The exhibit, “Native North America Gallery: Rooted in Resilience, Resisting Erasure,” opened Nov. 22 and is expected to remain on view for 10 years.
Eight Native consulting curators from tribes across the United States worked with museum staff to determine the exhibit’s focus and decide which items were appropriate for display, according to reporting by ICT. Jeremy Johnson, cultural education director for the Delaware Tribe of Indians, also known as Lenape, said the collaboration marked a shift from past museum practices. “This is the first we collaborated on … to really get our story out there,” Johnson was quoted as saying.
Museum officials said the gallery was developed in alignment with updated federal regulations under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and reflects ongoing government-to-government consultation.
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