Erasing history took a new step Saturday as the latest regulation from President Joe Biden’s administration forced the closure of multiple exhibits at a famed New York museum.
(Video: CBS News)
Nearly two years to the day from when the statue of noted conservationist and New Yorker President Theodore Roosevelt was removed from the stairs of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), learning opportunities for tourists and locals alike were stripped away as two exhibits were indefinitely shuttered.
Following the expansion of the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), new regulations took effect this month requiring museums to, among other things, obtain consent from “lineal descendants, Tribes or [Native Hawaiian Organizations] before allowing any exhibition of, access to, or research on human remains or cultural items.”
As a result, AMNH director Sean Decatur notified staff in a letter Friday, later made public, that the Hall of Eastern Woodland and the Hall of Great Plains at the nearly 155-year-old museum would be closed to visitors and employees.
“The halls we are closing are vestiges of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples,” said Decatur. “Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others.”
In addition to the shuttered exhibits, three cases outside the Woodlands Hall, two cases in the Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples, and two cases in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall would be covered to abide by the regulations.
Reacting to the sudden closure, 60-year-old Dan Shoop from Hell’s Kitchen told the New York Post, “People come here to learn and see the displays. If it’s not on public display, it robs the people of a chance to learn about a culture of great historic importance to this country.”
As it happened, the Hall of Eastern Woodlands had long been a school field trip location for area social studies curriculums as it represented many of the cultures that were first to interact with European pilgrims, explorers and settlers.
“It cheapens it for all of us. I think it’s a shame because there’s a lot of history being made secret,” Shoop added before expressing, “As I look around — these are basket-weaving displays and over there is snowshoe making — I wonder how much of this display is particularly disrespectful to religious beliefs. It doesn’t seem to be ceremonial.”
Meanwhile, as The New York Times reported that the closures would amount to 10,000 square feet of exhibition, Decatur disclosed to the newspaper, “Some objects may never come back on display as a result of the consultation process. But we are looking to create smaller-scale programs throughout the museum that can explain what kind of process is underway.”
“I think New Yorkers should have had a chance to say goodbye,” one member of the museum told the Post. “You can’t make a reservation for tomorrow. It would have been much better if they said it was closing two weeks from now. Many people in this hall said they wanted a chance for their kids to see it.”
Likewise, a child outside the museum lamented to CBS News how it was “upsetting, the fact that they’re closing, like, representation and stuff that, you know, other people could be interested in learning.”
In December, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland commented on the regulations and stated, “The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is an essential tool for the safe return of sacred objects to the communities from which they were stolen. Among the updates we are implementing are critical steps to strengthen the authority and role of Indigenous communities in the repatriation process. Finalizing these changes is an important part of laying the groundwork for the healing of our people.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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