Major New York Museum to halt Native American displays over new regulations

New York's American Museum of Natural History has announced that it will close two major halls to comply with new federal regulations that mandate museums to acquire consent from Native American tribes before displaying objects related to them or even performing research on them. The announcement was made on Friday (January 26) by the museum's president in a letter to museum staff.

“The halls we are closing are artifacts of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples,” Sean Decatur, the president.“Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others.”

The halls the museum is closing has galleries dedicated to the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains. They will be closed this weekend. The museum will also cover some other display cases which contain Native American cultural items.

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The federal rules have taken effect this month.

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The US media has reported that museums across the country have started taking such efforts and curators are scrambling to decide whether the artifacts comply with the new regulations or not. The artifacts or displays that violate the norms may be covered. According to The New York Times (NYT) Field Museum in Chicago and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University have already taken steps. The former has reportedly covered some of the displays while the latter said that would remove all funerary objects from exibition. The news outlet further said that Cleveland Museum of Art has covered up some cases.

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The step taken by the American Museum of Natural History, the New York museum which sees a footfall of 4.5 million annually, is being seen as a major one. The museum has a rich history and is one of the oldest museums in the country. The closures in the musuem will make 10,000 square feet of space off limit to visitor.

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“Some objects may never come back on display as a result of the consultation process,” Decatur said in an interview as quoted by NYT. “But we are looking to create smaller-scale programs throughout the museum that can explain what kind of process is underway.”

The regulations are result of the Biden administration's concerted effort for the repatriation of Native American objects, remains and funerary items along with other sacred items.

(With inputs from agencies)