Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 13, 2007 14:16:09 GMT -5
Dioramas 'demeaning' to Native Americans
DAVE GERSHMAN
A University of Michigan museum exhibit showing how Native Americans
lived hundreds of years ago was the target of a unique protest Sunday by
students who say it's offensive and should be taken down.
A group of six art students, as part of a class project, placed
translucent screens over the collection of dioramas that are prominently
displayed on the fourth floor of the U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural
History.
They handed out fliers asking why the museum won't remove what they
called "racist and demeaning dioramas.'' Among the students' complaints:
The dioramas show romanticized depictions of Native American life and
don't tell how those lives were changed with the introduction of
Europeans to North America.
The dioramas, created in the 1950s, have been a popular stop for the
legions of Michigan schoolchildren who have toured the museum over the
years.
In the dioramas, 4-inch tall Native American figurines, representing
people in Michigan and elsewhere in North America, cluster around
dwellings, cook fish, make sap and perform other tasks.
Even before the protest, the museum has been studying what to do with
the dioramas and is considering options that include their removal, said
museum director Amy Harris.
She said the displays are well-researched and accurate for their time.
Harris said she has heard from native people who like the dioramas and
others who are disturbed by them. The museum worked with local Native
Americans several years ago to add new labels to the dioramas to provide
a greater understanding of the scenes, she said.
Student Kevin Stahl said the dioramas still lack historical context and
are demeaning because they turn native peoples into an "action figure.''
He questioned why they are the only depictions of people found in a
museum with lots of exhibits on extinct animals.
"They don't have a place in this museum,'' he said.
The students also question the accuracy of the displays. One of the
scenes, depicting life in the early 1600s, shows Native Americans
outside during a winter thaw. Although the ground is white with snow,
male figures have bare chests and women have bare arms.
To get visitors to question the dioramas, the students drew life-sized
representations of the figures on the floor, making museumgoers choose
whether to step on or over them.
After the museum opened Sunday at noon, parents and their children
climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. The museum did not ask the
students to remove their project.
"We're not sure how to take (the protest),'' said museum visitor Andy
Grogan-Kaylor, who was with his 8-year-old son, Ross.
To the extent that the dioramas prompt students to ask questions, they
are good teaching tools, said Harris. She said that the museum staff
shares many of the same questions as the students.
The students who created the protest were part of an art class asked to
design projects to be installed at the museum. The projects were to
relate to an exhibit or the nature of museums.
The class instructor, Nick Tobier, an assistant professor of art, said
the projects were supposed to be developed in consultation with him and
the museum. He said he wasn't told that some of the students were going
to hand out fliers and criticize the museum.
"It's terrific that students are engaged socially and politically, and I
welcome that engagement,'' said Tobier. "I hope they take in all sides
of the story - that the museum has been working for years with native
groups trying to (find) a good solution.''
Reporter Dave Gershman can be reached at 734-994-6818 or
dgershman@annarbornews.com.
DAVE GERSHMAN
A University of Michigan museum exhibit showing how Native Americans
lived hundreds of years ago was the target of a unique protest Sunday by
students who say it's offensive and should be taken down.
A group of six art students, as part of a class project, placed
translucent screens over the collection of dioramas that are prominently
displayed on the fourth floor of the U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural
History.
They handed out fliers asking why the museum won't remove what they
called "racist and demeaning dioramas.'' Among the students' complaints:
The dioramas show romanticized depictions of Native American life and
don't tell how those lives were changed with the introduction of
Europeans to North America.
The dioramas, created in the 1950s, have been a popular stop for the
legions of Michigan schoolchildren who have toured the museum over the
years.
In the dioramas, 4-inch tall Native American figurines, representing
people in Michigan and elsewhere in North America, cluster around
dwellings, cook fish, make sap and perform other tasks.
Even before the protest, the museum has been studying what to do with
the dioramas and is considering options that include their removal, said
museum director Amy Harris.
She said the displays are well-researched and accurate for their time.
Harris said she has heard from native people who like the dioramas and
others who are disturbed by them. The museum worked with local Native
Americans several years ago to add new labels to the dioramas to provide
a greater understanding of the scenes, she said.
Student Kevin Stahl said the dioramas still lack historical context and
are demeaning because they turn native peoples into an "action figure.''
He questioned why they are the only depictions of people found in a
museum with lots of exhibits on extinct animals.
"They don't have a place in this museum,'' he said.
The students also question the accuracy of the displays. One of the
scenes, depicting life in the early 1600s, shows Native Americans
outside during a winter thaw. Although the ground is white with snow,
male figures have bare chests and women have bare arms.
To get visitors to question the dioramas, the students drew life-sized
representations of the figures on the floor, making museumgoers choose
whether to step on or over them.
After the museum opened Sunday at noon, parents and their children
climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. The museum did not ask the
students to remove their project.
"We're not sure how to take (the protest),'' said museum visitor Andy
Grogan-Kaylor, who was with his 8-year-old son, Ross.
To the extent that the dioramas prompt students to ask questions, they
are good teaching tools, said Harris. She said that the museum staff
shares many of the same questions as the students.
The students who created the protest were part of an art class asked to
design projects to be installed at the museum. The projects were to
relate to an exhibit or the nature of museums.
The class instructor, Nick Tobier, an assistant professor of art, said
the projects were supposed to be developed in consultation with him and
the museum. He said he wasn't told that some of the students were going
to hand out fliers and criticize the museum.
"It's terrific that students are engaged socially and politically, and I
welcome that engagement,'' said Tobier. "I hope they take in all sides
of the story - that the museum has been working for years with native
groups trying to (find) a good solution.''
Reporter Dave Gershman can be reached at 734-994-6818 or
dgershman@annarbornews.com.