Maine Public quotes Ranco in report on redesigning exhibits around Native culture
Maine Public quoted Darren Ranco, an associate professor of anthropology and chair of Native American Programs at the University of Maine, in a report on the movement to redesign exhibits around Native culture. The report focused on efforts by the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor to begin “museum decolonization,” or changing the way in which the institution views historic artifacts and frames cultural narratives. The Abbe Museum, which focuses on the Wabanaki, has redesigned its galleries and incorporated indigenous voices, as well as ensured that its board has a majority representation of indigenous people. The next step is establishing the Museum Decolonization Institute, funded by a federal grant, to assist other museums with similar efforts, Maine Public reported. Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, the president and CEO of Abbe Museum, noted that museums have always held a position of sovereignty and privilege in the selection of what is worthy of being displayed, and in how the exhibits are framed and what messages they communicate about a culture. “I wish more people understood that, and I think that’s where the museums have an ethical responsibility, because at some point they kind of fix things in, they say, ‘This is the Penobscot material culture,’” said Ranco, who is a member of the Penobscot Nation. Ranco told Maine Public that even in the 19th century, correspondence between museum collectors and Penobscot tribal leaders shows disagreement over what was worthy of display in a museum. “There’s just complete management around what is the ‘appropriate’ cultural object that you want,” he said.