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Haskell Cultural Center and Museum on Haskell Indian Nations University's (Haskell) campus was scheduled to host "Americans," a Smithsonian traveling exhibit, until federal funding cuts in February shifted the plan.
The exhibit explores how Native people have influenced and continue to influence culture in the United States. It includes artifacts of American household items that portray Native imagery.
“To host it at a place (Haskell) that was intended, that was really the foreground of where students were stripped of their culture, their identity, would have really been full circle, it would have been phenomenal," said director of Haskell Cultural Center and Museum Travis Campbell, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma; Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians.
In collaboration with Humanities Kansas, the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum and Watkins Museum of History (Watkins), located a short distance away from the university in Lawrence, decided to shift the exhibit to Watkins. It's the exhibit's first stop in Kansas and one of the first in the country.
“It would have been really neat to have visitors be there, on site, seeing this in that environment, but at the same time, the exhibit was curated by Natives, so it is Natives telling Native stories, which is wonderful," Campbell said.
Steve Nowak, the executive director of Watkins, said the most unfortunate part of the exhibit's shift away from Haskell's campus is that it is less accessible to the Haskell student body, which is comprised entirely of Native students. He said he feels lucky to have the Smithsonian traveling exhibit at Watkins, which saw over 400 visitors in its first week in August.
“We really desire that people visit us at Watkins and then go over to the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum and learn more about that local history and those 100-plus years of Haskell’s very important, impactful, and meaningful history here in our community," said Andrew Stockmann, curator of exhibitions at Watkins.
Kennedy Murphy, Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, is an Indigenous Studies Intern at Watkins. She attended Haskell for her undergraduate degree and is currently working toward her master's degree in Indigenous Studies at the University of Kansas.
"I'm able to give my perspective as not only a Native scholar but also as a helpful insight to the people of our community," Murphy said.
While Murphy said she was "heartbroken" that the exhibit couldn't be displayed at Haskell, she said she's "grateful" Watkins is hosting it.
"It's really beautiful to be involved and speak on a lot of things that are ignored and overlooked," Murphy said.
She helped with companion exhibits of the 'American' exhibit at Watkins. All three take a closer look at Native American history in Douglas and Franklin counties.
"There's so much deeper context to these stories that we've been told or learned in school or that have been passed down, and hearing this from a Native perspective and getting a lot of deeper information about it is just a really important part of this exhibit," Stockmann said.
'Americans' will be on display at Watkins, located at 1047 Massachusetts Street, until Oct. 5. Events related to the exhibit will be hosted on Haskell's campus.
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