Preserving America's Cultural Heritage

Museums serve as a way to connect with the public on a large scale, and the knowledge held within exhibits can be a fruitful experience for those who choose to visit these institutions. Experiencing all that a museum has to offer, no matter how well intentioned, can at times be confusing and overwhelming to the individuals visiting the site. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian dedicates itself to Native Americans in North and South America, and worked tirelessly with varying tribes to create a new standard. Some visitors and scholars found their work to be successful in design and approach while others found it to be lacking in execution. This institution does not approach Native American history in a familiar fashion; however it does cover an expansive period of time, and produces a great amount of detail while generating powerful emotions.

Quoted by Handler and Gable, critic Ada Louise Huxtable declares the newly constructed reproduction of Colonial Williamsburg as “too clean,” arguing that it “does not include the filth and stench that would have been commonplace.” (Source E) This sanitation of the truth completely misrepresents history, and the educational value greatly suffers. Conversely, the National Museum of the American Indian hopes to avoid this lack of judgment by dedicating itself to the “preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and Arts of Native Americans.” (Source C) The main goal of the museum is to “span all major cultural areas” (C) and educate the public about and preserve the rich history of such a vast culture. The authenticity and significance of artifacts are important to representing culture and history, and the ability of these artifacts to educate should be a key factor of the selection process.

Many do not know that the IMA houses two different libraries. The Stout Reference Library and the Horticultural Society Library provide numerous resources for their visitors, which mainly consist of students, IMA Staff, docents, collectors, researchers and even members of the community. The Stout Reference Library “focuses on the encyclopedia collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, while also providing general information about art and art history of all periods.” (Stout Reference Library, 2017) The Horticultural Society Library “houses more than 2,000 volumes, including general reference books and books on landscaping, specific plant families and horticulture.” (Horticultural Society Library, 2017) I mention the libraries because this semester, I am technically considered a library and archives intern at the IMA. My mentor however is the archivist, Samantha Norling. She has done impressive work at the IMA in such a short time. She jump-started the Archives online portal, which consists of thousands of digitized items from the archives. The IMA received a “generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)” (Documenting Modern Living, 2017), that allowed for 17,000 items from the Miller House and Garden archival collection to be digitized.

We view historical preservation as very important. This year we helped the Secretary of State with a biographical project, Legacy

I hope to see museums make more concerted efforts to educate the public. Too many exhibits are of the “passive, didactic looking” than like the engaging Object Stories program (Dartt, Murawski). Exhibits should seek to tell untold narratives, and programs should be places of communication and cross-cultural encounters. For too long, difficult confrontations have been avoided, both inside the museum, and by dominant communities

This upholds the same aspect of Humanities Nebraska’s mission statement. This event is a partnership with Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and state humanities councils nationwide (“Humanities Nebraska,” 2013). The changing exhibitions bring national history and culture to small communities within Nebraska. These exhibitions are displayed in libraries, museums, and other local organizations. Humanities Nebraska supports these exhibits by supplying events based on these traveling exhibitions (“Humanities Nebraska,” 2013). Their partnership is what makes these events memorable for the community and successful for the nonprofit organization.

The Heritage Foundation, The Heritage Foundation, 9 Sept. 2014,

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR... The American people in 1860 believed that they were the happiest and luckiest people in all the world, and in a way they were right. Most of them lived on farms or in very small towns, they lived better than their fathers had lived, and they knew that their children would do still better. The landscape was predominantly rural, with unending sandy roads winding leisurely across a country which was both drowsy with enjoyment of the present and vibrant with eagerness to get into the future. The average American then was in fact what he has been since only in legend, an independent small farmer, and in 1860 for the last time in American history the products of the Nations farms were worth more than the output of its factories. This may

In the Robyn Autry article, it mainly focuses on the national conflict of museums mainly focusing towards African American. The author travel to 15 museums around the United States that focuses towards African American. She mainly talks about how the African American were facing numerous hardships in the U.S and how the museum represents those issues to the general public. She believes the way to tell the hardship of African Americans is by exhibiting through a museum. When traveling through these museums she focused towards “centered on three traumatic episodes: capture and displacement from Africa, enslavement, and racial segregation” (Autry 64). The author of the articles wants to show that over time that museums meanings has changed over

Museums play an important role in preserving our American history. Some of the things they preserve include important documents from the World War 1 and 2. One of these important documents is the “National Crisis Day” Proclamation of 1917. This Document stated that from then on the government would be the production of food supply substantial and sent out a letter to all clergymen to tell other (farmers) to do the same.The Memory of the people's past is presented and preserved in these documents and events that have occurred throughout history. Exhibits from the Florida Memory give residents an insight of what it would be like to live in the era where World War 1 and 2 began. It shows them how the people were rallied, the victories, and the

Throughout the experience, I learned the importance and care of working with an artifact along with operations within a museum. As I toured Heartland Museum, I witnessed all of the items that are stored behind the scenes because museums only keep a small percentage of the belongings on display. I also learned about the process of creating a display, which includes piecing together many details like attraction, relevance, and of course history. Museums must worry about the community’s interest in the displays. Lastly, I learned about the importance of an artifact by working with some of the items. It is important to handle artifacts with care because of the fragility of the item. After the information I learned at the museum, it was my turn to experience the public

America is often thought of as one of the freest nations in the world. Throughout history, America has fought to provide its citizens with as much freedom as possible. From declaring independence from Britain to fighting a civil war to free the slaves to, more recently, passing a law to allow gay marriage, America’s mission statement has always seemed to speak of liberty. No matter what riots break out, what issues they protest, American citizens always know deep down that this country is the best place to be; hearing about places like North Korea and China is a nearly constant reminder of this. Tragic tales from other nations are also a constant reminder to the American government that they have a responsibility to keep freedom alive, not only for the citizens of our nation, but for people all over the world.

History and culture has for a long time been preserved in places such as museums which allow different people learn from past events thereby, allowing them to have a better understanding of that particular culture. Many countries around the globe ensure that the preservation of their culture and heritage is protect thereby creating places such as museums for that purpose. One of those museums is the Japanese American National Museums which showcases their history and culture and how all this has shaped its peoples history.

Collections play a crucial role in fulfilling a museum’s mission and purpose. A museum’s collection is defined by its collection policy past and present which in turn helps to shape the museum’s goals and direction. As stewards of collections, museums are expected to maintain the highest professional standards legally and ethically.

Interest depends on the individual choices. Books and papers archive can be done by individual, organizational, institutional and governmental. Interest in archiving is a good to a habit. If one is willing full to maintain and study things on historical grounds then it is a perfect platform for him. From the above discussion it can be concluded that one should make an effort towards the charitable work. And it is a good habit to maintain and value the literature and knowledge. The archives vary from big collection to small gatherings. Anyone can take part in the archiving