Alaska Office - Preservation

Workshop February 1998:
Alaska Native Museums
and Culture Centers
by Maria Williams

ASC Anchorage sponsored a technical assistance workshop on February 18-20, 1998 at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art called Alaska Native Museums and Culture Centers: Planning and Management. The three-day workshop focused on general issues of museum and culture center planning and management in addition to topics specific to tribal institutions. Forty individuals attended from the following communities: Anchorage, Angoon, Barrow, Bethel, Brevig Mission, Chenega Bay, Chickaloon, Chignik Lake, Cordova, Dutch Harbor, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Kenai, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Mentasta, Nome, Pilot Point, QuinhagakSeward, South Naknek, Togiak, and Toksook Bay.

Two guests at the national level were invited as keynote speakers: Charlotte Heth (Cherokee), Deputy Director, National Museum of the American Indian, and George Abrams (Seneca), Director of the Yager Museum and founding director of the Seneca National Iroquois Museum. The expertise and perspectives that Dr. Heth and Mr. Abrams brought to the workshop were very valuable. In addition to the two guests at the national level, several other presenters at the statewide level were included. Donna Mathews of Museums Alaska, Amy Steffian of the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak, Ron Brower of the Inupiat Heritage Center of Barrow, Joan Hamilton of the Yupiit Piciyararait Culture Center of Bethel, Terry Dickey, Education Coordinator of the University Museum in Fairbanks, and professional museum staff of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art gave presentations on various facets of tribal museum management.

The workshop included sessions on fund raising, museum shops, education programs, governance, mission statements, facilities management, exhibit planning and design, and collections management. The three days were jam-packed with information, and the participants learned from museum professionals about many aspects of museum and culture center management. Highlights included tours of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art's exhibit design and workshop space, in addition to the collections area. The participants' response confirmed the need for providing technical assistance workshops for rural communities, and some noted that the workshop also provided a springboard for networking between all the museums and culture centers throughout Alaska.

The workshop was made possible by important partnerships with the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, the Anchorage Museum Association, the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and Alaska Humanities Forum. Personnel of the Anchorage Museum and the Arctic Studies Center organized the workshop by inviting participants and presenters. The Alaska State Council on the Arts funded the workshop with a Technical Assistance Contract, in addition to offering travel support for individuals to attend the workshop, which ensured an excellent statewide attendance. The Arctic Studies Center is planning for additional workshops as part of its series for museums and culture centers in Alaska.