Sept 29 -Museums at Noon presentation

Growing Protocols: Documenting the Collaborative Process within the Heritage Seeds for Sustainable Lifeways Project

Collaboration between museums and Native American communities has overwhelmingly centered on either museum exhibitions or legally-mandated processes such as those based on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The Heritage Seeds for Sustainable Lifeways project departs from these types of collaborative efforts by focusing on creating protocols and relationships surrounding University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology (UMMAA) plant collections. The project works to bring a broad range of individuals from university settings and Tribal communities into conversation over their shared interest in the collections.

This presentation will explore my experience with the Heritage Seeds Project through my practicum at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. As a result of my documentation of the information sharing and planning sessions, we can examine the processes behind the creation of collaborative frameworks. This experience provided me great insight on the kinds of reciprocal relationships that surround museum collections.

Presented by Elspeth Geiger (PhD candidate, Anthropology)

Friday, September 29 at 12:00 pm – UM Museum of Art Multi-Purpose Room (125)