Decolonizing the Museum Through Indigenous Collaboration

Museums and Indigenous peoples have a history marked by tension and distrust, primarily due to the museum’s colonial reputation and past treatment of Indigenous peoples’ cultures and bodies. To address this issue and foster a stronger relationship between the two groups, this thesis examines collaboration with Indigenous communities as a means of decolonizing the museum. This paper will analyze five different case studies of Indigenous collaboration at museums. Using a spectrum of decoloniality this thesis aims to understand how each case study is decolonial, where they fail to be decolonial, and what museum professionals can learn about conducting future collaborations from these examples. Finally, this thesis argues that decolonizing the museum requires the redistribution of authoritative and decision-making power between museums and Indigenous peoples during and beyond collaboration, as well as that museums must prioritize Indigenous voice and physical presence. Prioritizing Indigenous presence and voice means that Indigenous peoples must be physically taking up space with both their bodies and their voices during a collaboration and within the finished product.

Author dc:creator

• Juliana Mendes Brinn (24399383)

• Museums
• Indigenous Studies

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.25417/uic.32993783.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/32993783