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  2. Theses and Dissertations
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  4. Weaving a new shared authority: the Akwesasne Museum and community collaboration preserving cultural heritage, 1970-2012
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Weaving a new shared authority: the Akwesasne Museum and community collaboration preserving cultural heritage, 1970-2012

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Description

Museums reflect power relations in society. Centuries of tradition dictate that museum professionals through years of study have more knowledge about the past and culture than the communities they present and serve. As mausoleums of intellect, museums developed cultures that are resistant to relinquishing any authority to the public. The long history of museums as the authority over the past led to the alienation and exclusion of many groups from museums, particular indigenous communities. Since the 1970s, many Native groups across the United States established their own museums in response to the exclusion of their voices in mainstream institutions. As establishments preserving cultural material, tradition, and history, tribal museums are recreating the meaning of "museum," presenting a model of cooperation and inclusion of community members to the museum process unprecedented in other institutions. In a changing world, many scholars and professionals call for a sharing of authority in museum spaces in order to engage the pubic in new ways, yet many cultural institutions s struggle to find a way to negotiate the traditional model of a museum while working with communities. Conversely, the practice of power sharing present in Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) tradition shaped a museum culture capable of collaboration with their community. Focusing on the Akwesasne Museum as a case study, this dissertation argues that the ability for a museum to share authority of the past with its community is dependent on the history and framework of the culture of the institution, its recognition of the importance of place to informing the museum, and the use of cultural symbols to encourage collaboration. At its core, this dissertation concerns issues of authority, power, and ownership over the past in museum spaces.

Date Created
2013
Contributors
  • Heisinger, Meaghan (Author)
  • Fixico, Donald (Thesis advisor)
  • Szuter, Christine (Committee member)
  • Warren-Findley, Jannelle (Committee member)
  • Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
  • history
  • Museum Studies
  • Native American Studies
  • Akwesasne
  • Iroquois
  • Shared Authority
  • Tribal Museums
  • Ethnological museums and collections--New York (State)--Franklin County.
  • Ethnological museums and collections
  • Iroquoian Indians--Museums--New York (State)--Franklin County.
  • Iroquoian Indians
  • Museums and community--New York (State)--Franklin County.
  • Museums and community
Resource Type
Text
Genre
Doctoral Dissertation
Academic theses
Extent
xi, 259 p
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Reuse Permissions
All Rights Reserved
Primary Member of
ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.18067
Statement of Responsibility
by Meaghan Heisinger
Description Source
Viewed on Mar. 23, 2015
Level of coding
full
Note
Partial requirement for: Ph. D., Arizona State University, 2013
Note type
thesis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-259)
Note type
bibliography
Field of study: History
System Created
  • 2013-07-12 06:28:15
System Modified
  • 2021-08-30 01:40:32
  •     
  • 1 year 9 months ago
Additional Formats
  • OAI Dublin Core
  • MODS XML

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The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.

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