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Peabody Loading…75% Complete…

Contributed by Marla Taylor

The fence around the Peabody is gone and there are no more contractors in the building.  It has been great to be back in the space for the past few days.

But, the work is nowhere near done!  Peabody staff are hard at work moving the collection back into the updated areas.  This is no easy task and won’t be complete for at least a couple months.

The Peabody looks forward to welcoming back the PA students and broader community in the spring term.  We can’t wait to show you what has been accomplished!

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Dominique Toya

Contributed by Ryan J. Wheeler

I’ve sat down several times to write this. It’s hard, for a couple of reasons. Dominique will always remain a remarkable person, funny, talented, generous of spirit, and with a laugh that made everyone around her soar. I think I’ve delayed writing because I feared I wouldn’t find the right words. Also, I was afraid that with the words would come a finality.

Dominique demonstrates the addition of mica to a student’s piece, May 2016.

Last month saw the passing of a truly remarkable individual. We remain shocked and saddened by the loss of Dominique Toya (1971-2023), who we have been fortunate to know since 2013. Dominique was a fifth generation potter, born to the Corn Clan at the Pueblo of Jemez. Dominique’s particular style of pottery saw the fusion of traditional methods and materials with innovative shapes and surface treatments. Collaboration with her family and other artists produced stunning and innovative results.

Dominique shares points out the polished details on her mom’s town crier figure to Phillips Academy ceramics instructor Thayer Zaeder, May 2014.

Dominique and her mom Maxine and sister Mia, often with other friends and family, traveled to Andover every year since 2014 to share Pueblo pottery making with Phillips Academy students, faculty, and friends. These weeklong workshops allowed students to make their own ceramic pieces with clay from New Mexico, finished, decorated, guided, and encouraged by the Toya Family. One year I conducted interviews with students following the finale of the class—an open-air firing. Considering all that Phillips Academy has to offer, I was a bit surprised when many of the students said their time with Dominique and her family was their best Andover experience. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Dominique was far more than a gifted artist; she was an ambassador of Indigenous art, and above all, a generous teacher.

Dominique tends the open air pottery firing at the end of May 2022’s weeklong workshop as students look on.

I cherish the Toya Family’s time on campus, Dominique’s laughter and sense of humor, but also watching her help students design and complete pieces, often helping them figure out how to solve problems or challenges (often ones that they had created!). Dominique played a big role in many communities–she was involved in the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, from exhibiting and frequently winning awards at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, judging and mentoring, to service on the SWAIA board. Dominique also was a drag performer and frequently traveled to participate in the International Court System, including the Imperial Sovereign Court of New Mexico, where she was crowned Empress 10. The International Court System is a venerable and well-known LGBTQ organization, raising funds for social issues, education, and other charitable causes. Dominique and her mom often donated their pieces for those fundraising efforts. During the Jemez and Pecos feast days, Dominique and her family prepared traditional foods, like Jemez enchiladas and oven bread, welcoming friends and visitors into their home to celebrate.

Dominique shares some tips on finishing a piece with an Academy student, May 2023.

I’m grateful that Dominique chose to be part of the Peabody Institute and Phillips Academy communities as well. Dominique, you taught us all a lot about art, Indigenous art, clay, the magic of mica, the business (and politics) of Native American art, but most of all, the art of being yourself. I’ll end with some of the student reflections from the Toya Family workshop in 2017: “Working with the Pueblo potters is really fun—we learned a lot and they have an amazing sense of humor.” “To be able to incorporate these techniques into my pieces gave me a new level of respect for pottery.” “This is one of the best things I’ve done all term, actually all year.” “These artists are so cool and they really care about their art and about your art.” Dominique, thank you for sharing and Godspeed.

The Peabody Institute is fortunate to have several of Dominique’s pieces, including these two swirl vessels that were featured in the spring 2023 show “Women in Abstraction” at the Addison Galley of American Art.

If you’d like to learn a little more about Dominique, this is a great article from New Mexico Magazine: https://www.newmexicomagazine.org/blog/post/dominique-toya/

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2023 ATALM Conference

Submitted by John Bergman-McCool

The 2023 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries and Museums was held in Oklahoma City at the end of October and hosted by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM). ATALM is an international non-profit organization that maintains a network of support for Indigenous programs, provides culturally relevant programming and services, encourages collaboration among Tribal and non-Tribal cultural institutions, and articulates contemporary issues related to developing and sustaining the cultural sovereignty of Native Nations. The annual conference provides a venue for cultural institutions that seek to protect and advance Indigenous culture and lifeways to share best practices.

The conference included ninety-eight sessions and a host of keynote speakers organized around the theme “Honoring and Elevating Indigenous Culture and Knowledge Systems.” I was fortunate that the Peabody provided me with the opportunity to attend. It was an excellent opportunity to make connections and learn from people in my field who are working at the forefront of decolonizing institutions. The number of relevant conference sessions meant that choosing which to attend was extremely difficult. Luckily, I was there with Peabody curator Marla Taylor and we split-up to attend more sessions.

Within the sessions I experienced many inspirational and emotional moments. Indigenous and non-Indigenous presenters shared their experiences working at reversing centuries of colonial practices within cultural institutions. As an employee of a non-Indigenous research institution that houses Indigenous materials, it was an extremely powerful experience.

View from outside the conference after the first day of sessions.

Chief among my experiences was a day-long preconference workshop entitled “Tools and Strategies to Support Indigenous Intellectual Property.” The workshop was led by a team from Local Context, an organization that is focused on increasing Indigenous involvement in data governance and the integration of Indigenous values into data systems. You can find a much more detailed description of their work on their website.

The workshop introduced the participants to copyright law, how to identify copyrighted materials, and strategies for working with copyrighted Indigenous intellectual property (IP) held in museum collections. The copyright of Indigenous IP is particularly insidious, giving ownership, and control over access and circulation to the person who records, writes, or documents the Indigenous IP, not the creator. Prior to the workshop I didn’t know how copyright was created. I also considered the digitization process, the idea of the digital commons, and the transition of copyrighted material to the public domain as a democratizing force providing equal access to information. However, free use of these materials becomes complicated when they contain culturally sensitive or inaccurate information.

Copyright of Indigenous IP cannot be corrected retroactively and inclusion in the public domain cannot be avoided, but there are workarounds. Institutions can choose not to share Indigenous IP that they house without permission from relevant Tribal communities. Additionally, Local Context has created a series of labels that Indigenous communities can use to add additional context to collections held in non-Indigenous institutions. The labels help foster communication and collaboration between the institutions and Indigenous communities and are a pathway for inserting Tribal authority into institutional data systems.

The conference was a tremendous event and I came away with a renewed vigor for the work that we do at the Peabody.

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Building Update – Phase I Nearly Complete!

Contributed by Marla Taylor

As 2023 comes to a close, so does Phase I of the Peabody building project. I am so excited and ready to get into our updated spaces and return to “normal” operations!

The elevator is in, the basement fire-suppression is in, the HVAC is in and the environmental controls have been adjusted, and the new shelving is nearly complete. It has been many months in the making and we are almost there!

At this point, Peabody staff are cleaning collections spaces and beginning to move boxes back into the updated areas. This has been quite the logistical task as we need to coordinate with contractors in the space and ensure the appropriate security and care for the collection. So far, so good.

Hopefully, we will be back in the building and ready to welcome classes, researchers, and inquiries again in the spring of 2024. Thank you to everyone who supported this project with time or finances – we could not have done it without you.

I am looking forward (sort of) to Phase II!

This project will rely on philanthropic support from our donor community. To help advance this critical renovation, please contact Nicole Cherubini, director of development, at 978-749-4288 or ncherubini@andover.edu.

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2023 Repatriation Conference

Contributed by Ryan Wheeler

The Association on American Indian Affairs, helmed by Shannon O’Loughlin, hosted the 9th annual repatriation conference at the grand resort of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The Peabody Institute was one of fifteen organizations that helped sponsor the three-day conference. Much of the focus was on compliance with the Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), federal legislation passed in 1990 that made it possible for Tribal Nations to reclaim their ancestors, funerary belongings, as well as several other types of cultural items from museums and federal agencies. About 300 people attended in person, with another 300 online.

This year’s theme–Building a New Fire–focused participants on how museums, agencies, and Tribal Nations could prepare for the new repatriation regulations promulgated by the Department of the Interior, the implications of the passage of the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act and international repatriation, as well as numerous case studies and panel discussions. Highlights include conversations with some of the journalists that have been covering NAGPRA compliance this year from ProPublica and other news outlets, a keynote talk by Angeline Boulley, author of Warrior Girl Unearthed and Firekeeper’s Daughter, as well as training on NAGPRA compliance by Melanie O’Brien, manager of the National Park Service’s repatriation program.

Angeline Boulley shares Warrior Girl Unearthed, her young adult novel that explores one young woman’s experience with repatriation.

I was happy to participate in the session “Well That is What it Says, But…: A Policy Focused Discussion of NAGPRA and its Application in Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices,” organized by Megan Kleeschulte, Doctoral Candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and featuring Dr. Ellen Lofaro, Director of Repatriation at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and William Johnson, Saginaw Chippewa, Curator and Operations Manager for the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways. Megan’s work focuses on medical examiner and coroner compliance with NAGPRA, which varies as much as the local and state structures that govern these forensically focused offices.

Participants in the session “Hlaa Hiyukwhl Gwildim-Goodam Dim Dip Luu-diyaltkwhl Hli Haykwhl Ganiye’etgum – Preparing to Bring Our Ancestors Home: Rematriation of the Wilps Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole from Scotland to Nisga’a Lands.”

The conference was also a great opportunity to connect with old friends and make new connections. Since the Covid pandemic, a lot of consultation has happened over the phone or on Zoom, so being in the same place with friends and colleagues was a blessing. Shannon hinted that future conferences might be focused regionally, with even greater emphasis on connecting Tribal Nations with the institutions and agencies that are holding their ancestors and belongings. Whatever the future holds, I’m looking forward to participating. It’s special to be able to gather with others all working on repatriation and build on that shared experience.

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Beyond Work Duty

Contributed by Peabody Student Volunteer, Anthony Chung Yin Woo

In the fall term of tenth grade, I first joined the Peabody as a work duty student before returning as a student volunteer during my upper senior year. Working at the Peabody has given me an in depth behind the scenes look into running a museum, exposing me to the challenges in caring for a collection. When participating in preparation works for the building renovation project last winter, I learned about some of the technical complexities that museum workers have to go through in order to responsibly safeguard the collection. Having had the great opportunity to attend the Peabody Board of Advisors meeting in the fall as a student representative, I was also exposed to some of the administrative complexities behind museum work.

A complete revamp of the basement area meant that we had to come up with creative solutions when it came to temporarily rehousing the collection within museum premises. Armed with a tape measure and a rough floor plan, we navigated all protruding columns and bulky built in radiators in the southern first floor gallery to mark up the approximate location for a separated temporary storage space with individual climate monitoring, while maintaining the required three foot hallway for access to the fire exit located at the back of the building. Additionally, previously underutilized spaces had to be optimized to fit in more durable, weather resistant objects, allowing me to foray into the expansive attic as I removed sawhorses and large glass tubes from the basement.

In spite of the physically and mentally draining task of completely clearing out the basement, moments of excitement rewarded me throughout the process. Under the empty wooden bays, for example, I found tiny matchboxes from the 1940s, cool items which alluded to the museum’s own history. A Spencer Delineascope, manufactured by Bell and Howell found in the basement, spoke to the great advancements made in projection technology since the 1930s, as the bulky object was moved slowly up the stairs. Only when it was removed from the little room under the stairs to the basement was when I could truly appreciate the size of the museum’s safe and its obsolescence in a time when the entire collection was kept behind locked doors.

Direction Booklet for the Peabody’s Delineascope
The Peabody’s old safe.

Learning about the 3D printed replicas of the intricate molding on the gallery ceilings also made me appreciate the museum as a historically significant space itself, allowing me to understand that preserving the space’s spirit through attention to detail was crucial even as the building is physically altered to facilitate better learning in the future through greater accessibility.

Attending the Peabody Advisory Committee meeting allowed me to better contextualize my work as a volunteer as I watched experts across disciplines partake in the collaborative process of museum governance. It was especially interesting for me to hear about the cross-institutional connections brought by Hopi artist Ramson Lomatewama, and I was particularly happy to share my experience at the communal fused-glass making workshop, which was enthusiastically attended by both faculty members and students. Going through items on the agenda, such as the adoption of a new mission statement, as well as the advisory board’s renaming (form the Peabody Advisory Committee to Peabody Board of Advisors), while less captivating than the discussion on the Peabody’s educational program and future student engagement opportunities, were nevertheless just as relevant to the student experience. As I look forward to returning to the updated building on Main Street in the winter, both as a student volunteer and as a member of this year’s Human Origins cohort, I am constantly reminded of the care demonstrated by the Peabody’s staff as well as the Peabody Board of Advisors towards the collection, the museum, and the greater community as a whole, manifested in the meticulous attention to word choice in the advisory board’s mission statement drafting process.

My fused glass piece before kiln firing.
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Summer School

Contributed by Nick Andrusin

I already did 6 years of school, what’s one more class! This summer I had the opportunity to do some professional development with the Peabody, and I was more than happy to take advantage of the chance to learn something new. Museum Study LLC is a service that offers online courses and virtual lectures on a variety of museum related topics, from collections management to administration.

Museum Study online professional development – Home

After some painful humming and hawing (I was informed I can only do one at a time…Marla…) I decided on Foundations of Community Engagement, taught by the awesome Dr. Shannyn Palmer.

Museum Study Instructor Shannyn Palmer

My background is in public history, and part of my role at the Peabody is engaging with the community, so it was a good fit. The class lasted for the month of July and was virtual. Each week involved multiple readings on how different museums have incorporated community engagement, how it’s been done successfully (or unsuccessfully in a few cases), and the philosophy behind ethical engagement with museum communities. We would have questions and assignments to fill out, and then we would meet once a week virtually to discuss what we learned. The class was small, but the conversations were interesting, with participants from a variety of museums.

Just what is community engagement? Well, not to use a circular definition, but it’s how a museum engages with its communities. How much, what methods, which groups specifically, etc. The particulars will vary from project to project, but it all centers on connecting, collaborating, and co-creating with the group. Not just having them sign off on the project but allowing them the opportunity to be meaningfully involved in the planning and/or execution. Again, depending on the specific context of the exhibit or project. A big aspect of the class was the idea that this is not a perfect science and there is no one size fits all solution. It’s something that needs to be practiced and adapted to different situations. If a museum is doing an exhibit on a specific local community for example, that community should be involved from the outset, and at multiple levels of the project. Otherwise, what little involvement they do have may be tokenistic and the exhibit could be inauthentic or potentially offensive.

As largely public institutions, museums live and breathe on how well they engage their communities. Therefore, this engagement being ethical and non-tokenistic is a big deal. Between the modern-day ramifications of white supremacy and colonization, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, museums are at a bit of an impasse. Questions about whom museums serve and what they should and shouldn’t do are becoming more common. Their roles are evolving as they determine their purpose. Ethical community engagement is the right way to ensure the museum is not failing the groups and individuals served.

The Peabody is an interesting museum in this case, because we haven’t created exhibits for the last couple of decades. Therefore, our community doesn’t really include your typical idea of museum visitors. However, the students and faculty of Phillips Academy absolutely fit the definition of our community. As well as the Native communities we work with during repatriation. Ergo when the Peabody does community engagement, we seek to collaborate with these groups in balanced and effective ways.

Overall, it was an interesting class with a great professor! I am very grateful to the Peabody for the chance at some professional development!  This was just a taste of what it offered; one blog is far too short to go into detail on everything. If I piqued your curiosity, you will just have to check out the class for yourself….

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Map Quest

The Peabody has recently acquired several examples of Indigenous art, with the goal of enriching our education collection. Raven Makes Gallery is an art gallery based in Sisters, Oregon, dedicated seeking to “work directly with artists to bring American Indian, or Native American, First Nations and Alaska Native art to the unique setting of Central Oregon and cultivate a deeper awareness about fine artists and their communities.”

The Gallery features original pieces made primarily by Indigenous artists from North America, but also has pieces that come from Indigenous people all over the world. It’s an amazing gallery and their website is definitely worth poking around for those who are interested.

Native American Art Gallery – Raven Makes Gallery

Super cool stuff, right? Here’s where we come in. This year the gallery presented “The Homeland Collection, year three.” It was a collection of 88 antique maps (think like, nineteenth century settler maps) that served as a canvas for 22 Indigenous artists from all over the world to incorporate into their own work. The Peabody purchased two of these pieces!

The Homelands Collection, 3rd Ed, Raven Makes Gallery Exhibit– Homelands Collection

The maps are a powerful visual representation of re-indigenization/decolonization in artwork. Maps are interesting to look at, but there are questions: what is the reason they are made, who are they made for, who are they made by? Maps like those in the Raven Makes Gallery collection may have been designed with settlers and land prospectors in mind. The maps were used to impose colonizer culture and world views on Indigenous people. The illustrated borders would have had little to no input by Native communities, on land that they were the stewards of to begin with. So, this project has been an opportunity to shift the narrative. Turning tools of colonization into a representation of decolonization. Flipping it on its head! A physical reminder that Native people have been here for at least tens of thousands of years before these maps were “needed.”

The Peabody has a large collection of items from Alaska and the Southwest, so these two pieces made the most sense to grab. We are excited to have the opportunity to support Native artists and strengthen our education collection! We hope to use these to create interesting conversations about the creation and usage of maps in our history!

The first is Isuqwiq Pisuraa (Hunting Seals) II by Heather Johnston (Alutiiq). The map is an 1827 depiction of south-western Alaska by Philippe Vandermaelen, showing the routes of artic explorers in the late 1700s.

The second piece is Kachinas’ Territory by Wilmer Kay (Hopi). The map is an 1862 depiction of the Southwest made during the Civil War by A.J. Johnson.

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PA Students Visit Harvard’s 25th Annual Powwow

Contributed by Emma Lavoie

Last month, the Peabody Institute sponsored a day trip to Harvard University for Phillips Academy students. The 25th Annual Powwow was hosted by the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP). After a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the HUNAP program was able to welcome the return of their Powwow.

Flyer for HUNAP’s 25th Annual Powwow

This year’s theme for the HUNAP Powwow was Protect Indigenous Futures! The event was held on Orange Shirt Day, a national day of remembrance and reconciliation for victims of residential schools, which sought to separate Native children from their families and forcibly assimilate them. The Powwow honored survivors and victims of residential schools throughout Canada and the United States.

The Powwow ceremony is an Indigenous gathering with traditional dances and music held by Tribal nations from the New England area. The event welcomed hundreds of attendees from Harvard, neighboring Native communities, and the Greater Boston area.

Photos from the HUNAP Powwow
Photos by Catherine Dondero and Courtesy of Harvard University

Students took part in community dances, which welcomed all event attendees into the arena to dance together. Many PA students took part in these community dances and got to experience the ceremony traditions first-hand.

PA students participating in community dances

This event was a wonderful opportunity for students to experience Indigenous cultural traditions and ceremonies. Students also had the opportunity to connect with Indigenous students, community members, HUNAP students, and Tribal nations from the Greater Boston area, New England, and those visiting from other parts of the United States and Canada.

Want to hear more about this event from the students’ perspective? Check out this article from Phillips Academy’s student paper, The Phillipian.

For more details about the HUNAP 25th Annual Powwow, explore this article from The Harvard Gazette and video coverage of the event by Harvard University.

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Reading Angeline Boulley

Contributed by Marla Taylor

Last November, I attended the AAIA Repatriation Conference in New Buffalo, Michigan. There were many tremendous speakers, but the one that really sticks out in my memory was Angeline Boulley. She does not work in the world of repatriation, but held the room in her hands as she spoke to us. I so vividly remember Angeline speaking to us all at the conference – she earned a standing ovation and my presentation had to follow that!

Angeline is a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She had recently published her book Firekeeper’s Daughter (a #1 New York Times Bestseller) and was giving us a tease of her next book, Warrior Girl Unearthed.

At the time, I had not read Firekeeper’s Daughter and quickly purchased myself a copy. I LOVED it. The story was a fresh take on a murder mystery/adventure. The main character, Daunis, is a biracial unenrolled tribal member whose cultural knowledge can contribute to protecting her community. Sprinkled throughout the book are Ojibwe words, phrases, and cultural teachings in a way that only augments and enriches the story being told. I highly recommend it to you all! (and ignore the young adult classification – this is a complex story that is not always appropriate for younger readers)

Warrior Girl Unearthed is powerful in a different way. Grounded in the complicated reality of repatriation and missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW), this novel can feel a little heavy at times. Angeline uses the book in part to educate her readers about NAGPRA and repatriation and in part to build a new adventure around preventing a plot to profit off robbed Indigenous graves. While an explanation of NAGPRA does not always make compelling reading, the story itself is exciting and multi-faceted. Angeline once again interweaves Ojibwe words and cultural teachings in an effective way. And that is maybe the best thing about the book – the Ojibwe culture is just a part of who the main character is. She is just living her life and interfacing with her cultural teachings in a way that does not feel contrived but is instead natural. That feels novel and under-represented in young adult literature.

Her words and her books have left an impression on me and I encourage you to pick up a copy yourself.