Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The Eiteljorg Museum is unique in that it displays Western American and Native American art within the same space. Some scholars may argue that this combination only reinforces the colonial mindset; that the voices of Native Americans will be drowned out by the more dominant voices of the white settlers of the West. But, the Eiteljorg works to ensure that none of the diverse perspectives of the American West are silenced. The Eiteljorg Museum was created when Harrison Eiteljorg merged his private collection with the collection of the failing Museum of Indian Heritage. Soon after the Museum opened in 1989, they realized that they had a responsibility to teach the public about the local Native American communities. They created national and regional Native American advisory groups to work with them on exhibitions and established a lasting relationship with the Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana. They worked with them to create the exhibition “Mihtohseenionki: the People’s Place,” a gallery that tells the history of several Native tribes in Indiana in their own words. My paper focuses on this gallery, articulating the role of the Miami Nation in the development and continued evolution of the gallery. The museum ensures that the issues, including stereotypical representations of Native Americans, manifest destiny and the romanticizing of the Frontier are brought to attention instead of normalized and ignored. My paper highlights how the museum addresses these issues through comparative analysis of individual artworks and the gallery spaces themselves.