Spirited Encounters: American Indians Protest Museum Policies and Practices [Paperback]

Karen Coody Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0759110891 | ISBN-13: 978-0759110892

During the twentieth century, dozens of protests, large and small, occurred across North America as American Indians asserted their anger and displayed their disappointment regarding traditional museum behaviors. In response, due to public embarrassment and an awakening of sensitivities, museums began to change their methods and, additionally, laws were enacted in support of American Indian requests for change. The result is that American museums have revised their long-held practices due to American Indian protests. Spirited Encounters provides a foundation for understanding museums and looks at their development to present time, examines how museums collect Native materials, and explores protest as a fully American process of addressing grievances. Now that museums and American Indians are working together in the processes of repatriation, this book can help each side understand the other more fully.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This monograph raises significant questions and reveals numerous debates surrounding such issues as ownership and access to museum collections and archives; the repatriation of human remains, funerary items, and cultural patrimony; Native American traditional and modern art and art museums; the need for consultation and collarboration with Indigenous peoples and communities;and the importance of sacred sites. (Majel Boxer Great Plains Research )

A straightforward account that touches on the major issues confronting museums in any multicultural society. Appropriate for anyone interested in cultural heritage issues. Highly recommended. (CHOICE, November 2008 )

About the Author

Karen Coody Cooper was recently the Museum Training Program Coordinator at the National Museum of the American Indian, and was formerly Training Programs Manager at the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. She holds a Master of Liberal Studies degree, with a museum and anthropology emphasis, from the University of Oklahoma and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: AltaMira Press (November 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759110891
• ISBN-13: 978-0759110892
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #348,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Native American Culture vs Museums, July 11, 2011

By 

Jonathan Baker (OKC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirited Encounters: American Indians Protest Museum Policies and Practices (Hardcover)

This book helps to shed light on the trials and tribulations Native Americans have had to go through to ensure that their religious rights and practices are protected. By providing sources and going into great detail on subjects such as the display of scared objects, the display of Native American remains, and how Native American art is often confined, Karen Cooper successfully portrays the ongoing fight many tribes across the country are still fighting to this day.

By going into great detail regarding the court cases and protests that have almost forced many museums and national park service sites to return sacred objects from their collections and the remains of ancestors from various tribes across the United States (including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.), Cooper shows beyond a reasonable doubt that Native American rights have never been put in the forefront of lawmakers or museum employees minds as much as they are today. The road to repatriation is still a long one, but in the past 20 years many steps have been taken to right the wrongs that have been done to all Native American tribes for the past 400 years.

By including information on how many Native Americans feel about holidays such as Columbus Day (many Indians mourn this day rather than celebrate it for obvious reasons), Cooper also helps to shed light on the outlooks that many Indian tribes have with regards to the Federal Government and the National Parks Service. By telling in depth stories about the fight for native lands such as Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico, Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, and sections of the Badlands in South Dakota, it is obvious that there is still a long way to go with regards to making sure Native Americans are treated fairly with regards to sacred objects and native lands.

Read this book if you are interested in seeing how Native Americans are really dealt with by National Museums, Parks, and the Federal Government. It is a very thorough look at these complex relationships, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to enhance their knowledge of Native American of museum history in the United States.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read this book!, February 3, 2009

By 

Jim Roaix (Chesapeake Beach, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirited Encounters: American Indians Protest Museum Policies and Practices (Paperback)

This book taught me a lot about the issues in museums that have irritated
American Indians. That it took so long for the many protests by American
Indians to get museums to treat them fairly surprised me. This book is
well-written and interesting. I recommend it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and informative read, July 30, 2011

By 

Jenna Thorburn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirited Encounters: American Indians Protest Museum Policies and Practices (Hardcover)

"Spirited Encounters" is insightful and informative. From the introduction and throughout the book, Cooper gives personal experiences she has had in her lifetime regarding museums and how they display and portray Native American History. As a member of the Cherokee Nation, Cooper has vast experience and knowledge of museums, Native American history, their cultures and has been an advocate of having these cultures represented in a positive format throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Cooper provides an array of encounters that Native Americans have participated, in order to have their voices heard. From the 1970's to present day, Native Americans have made forward progress in collaborating with museums in order to have their true histories displayed. Cooper sheds light on the difficulties and trials Native Americans have had not only since their first encounters with European Americans, but especially since the mid twentieth century to present day with getting equal civil rights.

Cooper specifically demonstrates how important Native American protests have been in museum curators and governances realizing the importance of respecting Native cultures. Because of these protests many pieces of legislation, such and the Indian Arts and Crafts Act and probably most importantly, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which has forced museums to reconsider how they treat and display native artifacts. Since the 1990's, museum curators have collaborated and consult with members of Native Nations prior to creating exhibits. Also, many museum governances have added Native Americans to their museum boards.

Cooper does an amazing job with making sure non-native readers realize how important the Native American culture is to the history of U.S. and Canada alike. Native American cultures are not extinct as many museums have portrayed them throughout time, Cooper shows that Native American cultures are alive and well and ready to make new history and are more than willling to share their unique cultures.

I highly reccommend this book to anyone who is studying U.S. or Canadian History for a unique and intriguing perspective on museums and Native Cultures. This is a positive and inspiring book for anyone interested in Native American cultures. Well done.