Art History and Museology : The Display of Culturally Purposeful Objects in Museums

Abstract

The author discusses the history and popularity of natural history museums and their 19th century tradition of cultural taxonomy, the relationship between the viewer and the display of cultural artifacts, and then considers how the cultural purpose of indigenous American artifacts can be misrepresented by the exhibit design of non-indigenous curators. The author concludes with discussion of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and the creation of galleries and exhibits by indigenous people themselves.