The Underlying Racism in Museums

    What stands out to you when you stroll through your local science museum? The towering skeletons of dinosaurs? Or the breathtakingly accurate space exhibit? The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is the only nationally recognized museum to exhibit lifesize nature panoramas of wildlife seen in Colorado's environment. You will see an array of beautiful scenes depicting wildcats to bluejays. It is extremely interesting to browse through until you reach Crane Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Crane were an old couple in the 1960s who had a profound interest in Native American objects and donated it all to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, hence the name "Crane Hall". This part of the museum is solely dedicated to depicting Native American life and conserved artifacts that they used in their time. Some may argue that this exhibit is extremely informative in the sense of celebrating the culture and lives of the indigenous, but others see it as highly offensive to all peoples of native descent. Why is it that the indigenous people are always put on display? It's unlikely you'll see a whole museum hall dedicated to the lives and cultures of an English man or a German family. So why indigenous people? What is even more upsetting is that this hall has been placed right next to the wildlife panoramas, which hints at grouping wildlife animals and Native Americans under the same classification. 

As you walk through Crane Hall you'll also notice this clay model of a ritual Native American ceremony. It is extremely detailed, down to each curve of the figures in the scene, and may be admired for its intricate work. However, if you look closely, there's are two figures that do not appear to belong in the scene. If you look closely in the bottom left, two clay figures depicting white women appear to partake in this panorama. The two artists who modeled this scene actually inserted themselves into their own work, perhaps as their way of signing the work. While others may see this as a harmless inclusion, others see this as terribly disrespectful. What need was there to put two white women in a scene of indigenous ritual considering the extensive wrongdoings of the white man against the native people? Steve Nash, a curator and head anthropologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science counteracted this by saying it was their way of hinting at a comedic gesture. In other clay models around the whole museum, artists have inserted their own mark into their projects such as adding minion figures or other animated cartoons. I, however, do not think this is a valid point at all. Minions are fictional characters created for sole entertainment purposes in the film industry, but tainting a breathtaking ritual scenario with two figures that have nothing but exposed violence and harm to the ritual's community, is extremely offputting and almost taunting in a sense. 

There is talk of replacing the Crane Hall with a different kind of exhibit but it is still highly debated. Should it stay focused on Native American heritage but just remodeled in a less offensive manner? Or should it be completely torn down and replaced with something completely new?