Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The Burke Museum, located in Seattle, Washington has a large ethnology collection with objects from every country on or in the Pacific Ocean, with an emphasis on Northwest Coast Native American communities. The Burke has made consorted efforts to decolonize their collections and bring in community members to connect with their objects. Native American communities have long been a priority for the Burke but in recent years they have increased connections with more Pacific communities, particularly Asian communities in the Seattle area. This paper investigates the ways that the Burke establishes and continues these connections and how they plan to develop more going forward through interviews with Burke staff members. Further, I will discuss the benefits that have come from these connections in regard to the collections as well as the community members, also using personal interviews and examining changes that have come up with specific objects.