Monday, May 18, marks International Museum Day, a day to highlight museums as a place of “cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples” per the International Council of Museums. Dr. Nonabah Sam (Navajo and Tesuque Pueblo), museum curator of Ned Hatathli Museum and adjunct faculty at Diné College, shared how museums and Indigenous-led and focused exhibitions and collections serve Native artists and the public.
Dr. Sam comes from a family of artists. Her grandfather, Patrick Swazo-Hinds, was a well-known painter and lithographer. Her father Mark Swazo-Hinds was a sculptor, and her aunt, Maria Swazo-Hinds, is a potter who also served as the Director of Education at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Dr. Sam is also a bead artist when her career and neuropathy allow her to practice her craft.
Dr. Sam was drawn to museum curation at a young age. At 16 she was introduced to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) through a presentation given by a tribal office. NAGPRA provides protection and return of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants and Tribes.
“It’s really thinking about that idea of also bringing home what doesn’t belong outside of our sacred territories.”
When Dr. Sam entered the field, tribal museums were in their infancy with only a handful operating. She wanted to identify preservation and conservation methods that would be better for Indigenous peoples, preserving items in cultural spaces provided to them, and consider the methodologies museums used to create spaces. When she joined Diné College in 2012 as the Museum Curator for the Ned Hatathli Museum, it was an opportunity for her to implement her ideas. One of her key goals was for the Diné to tell their story from their own perspective. In contrast to the common colonial or historical narrative of most museums, she wanted the space to speak for itself.
“I think one of the important things that I’ve realized here at Diné College is we have such an amazing, culturally significant collection. That’s what, going back to who we are culturally, speaks volumes when it comes to language and practicing ceremonies. And the collection that we have is very specific to our ceremonies here on Navajo.”
Aside from her role at the museum, Dr. Sam is also helping to educate the next generation of artists at Diné College. All students pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the college must do a thesis exhibition before graduating. The exhibit is an opportunity for students to learn the significance of what it means to put on an exhibit, looking at socio-political ideas, awareness, and education. It’s also a chance for budding artists to push themselves and grow.
“I think that’s one of the things that I really enjoy here is giving students the opportunity to voice who they are becoming as an artist. And I think that’s one thing with contemporary art is it gives you an opportunity to push the bar when thinking about, ‘How much further can I go?’ What is there, what else is there to explore out there? Because, having gone to school at IAIA, it’s important to push the bar. It’s important to push your limits as an artist.”
It was her education at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), coupled with her family history as artisans, that solidified in her mind the inherent relationship between traditional and contemporary arts. Many of the designs and techniques are passed down through generations. Students can push the boundaries of these historic forms as they explore their own art. Dr. Sam noted the public would recognize this most easily in how traditional clothing has come to inspire contemporary clothing at events such as during Fashion Week. It can also be seen in the weaving course that is part of Diné College’s cultural arts program, where students are learning traditional weaving techniques, such as wedge weave, and understanding their importance, but utilizing them for contemporary designs.
“You can’t have one without the other, because we all know that, for Indigenous people, our traditional art forms are what sustain us and what continue to sustain us. But I think in every generation, there’s a cultural shift. And I talk about that cultural shift in my dissertation as well, because we know that language shift happens. We know that cultural teachings shift in different ways. And we familiarize ourselves with that. And the same thing is taking place among arts as well.”
For those looking to view Indigenous exhibits or considering which museums to visit during any travels, Dr. Sam suggests doing your research beforehand. Know which venues you want to patronize, what you wish to explore, and what cultural arts represent to the people in the places you’re visiting. Remember to have respect because the places you will walk in the Americas are on sacred land, and it has always been sacred and will remain that way.
When asked what words of wisdom she would offer to current or perspective students looking to enter the museum curation field, Dr. Sam said, “Keep an open mind of what’s ahead when you decide to come into the museum field. There is plenty of research to be done, plenty of stories to be told, and plenty of medicine to work with when you combine it all together. Be mindful of your relationships and be more mindful of the medicine it takes to work in this particular practice.”
