Just five minutes ago, I saw this article in the NYT: “Leading Museums Remove Native Displays Amid New Federal Rules.” The subhead is, “The American Museum of Natural History is closing two major halls as museums around the nation respond to updated policies from the Biden administration.” …
Are museum exhibits on the Civil War required to obtain consent from descendants of those who fought? Are museum exhibits about the discovery of America required to obtain consent from Columbus’s great, great, great, etc. grandchildren? Are exhibits about astronomy required to obtain consent from Andromeda?
Good grief.
[The result of this is not an increase of honor and awareness of Native American culture. It will be to make those less accessible, and eventually less relevant, in American society. It’s a strange new twist on the paternalism that has always been part of our relationship to Indians in this country, but even more perverse than usual. — Ed]
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