Dr. Claire Heckel (Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History) will provide a brief overview of current research on objects of Lakota cultural heritage at the Museum, followed by an opportunity for discussion and input from the community. These include objects that came specifically from Pine Ridge or other reservations in the North and South Dakota as well as objects only labeled as “Dakota”, “Lakota”, and “Sioux” or even “Plains.” Most of the objects were made between 1850 and 1900. Claire will also provide an overview of the digital materials (images, catalog information, archival materials) that are being made available to the community and information on how continuing input can be made in the coming year.

Topics will include: What materials are at the museum and how did they get there? What do we know about these objects and what information has been lost? What can be recovered, and how? How did the attitudes of early non-native anthropologists shape these collections, and what has (and hasn’t) changed since then? How can museum research be more informed by the values and concerns of the Lakota community? How can museum objects be used to challenge the “authority” of anthropologists and Euroamerican observers and inform new histories of Lakota resilience and survival? What are the best ways to make the results of this research freely available to the community so that the rewriting of these histories respects Lakota rights to self-determination?