{"id":162439,"date":"2022-07-25T11:31:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T21:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=162439"},"modified":"2022-07-25T11:31:20","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T21:31:20","slug":"indigenous-museum-professionals-oahu-landmarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/07\/25\/indigenous-museum-professionals-oahu-landmarks\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous museum professionals train at O\u02bbahu landmarks"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Reggie Meredith Fitiao from American Samoa demonstrates the art of Siapo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new institute aimed at training early to mid-career Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders who work in museums and cultural heritage centers launched its inaugural four-week cohort on July 4. 20 individuals from Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and across the Pacific—including Saipan, American Samoa and the Marshall Islands—are participating in Weaving a Net(work) of Care for Oceanic Collections: A Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Museum Summer Institute. Jointly hosted by the Department of American Studies<\/a> at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa and the East-West Center<\/a> (EWC<\/abbr>), the institute focuses on museum management and collections care for institutions, professionals and communities that care for Oceanic collections.<\/p>\n

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Participants are shown a sewing box at Hawaiian Mission Houses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Various educational workshops—preservation management, archival storage, gallery deinstall, disaster planning and more—have been presented by some of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s top curators at Bishop Museum, ʻIolani Palace, UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Hamilton Library, Hawaiian Mission Houses and EWC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“This project has exceeded our wildest expectations,” said Noelle Kahanu<\/strong>, a project manager at the institute. “We were inspired by an EWC<\/abbr> museum institute that occurred in the early 70s, and the National Endowment for the Humanities supported our reinvisioned concept. We wanted to move beyond Western best practices and bring in museum experts and cultural leaders who could share their Indigenous perspectives. We wanted to demonstrate how you could care for your collections without a $1,000 vacuum cleaner or how to repair torn documents and maps.”<\/p>\n

Community enrichment<\/h2>\n
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Pamela Alconcel observes original Hawaiian language newspapers at Bishop Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pamela Alconcel<\/strong> is soaking in every ounce of critical ʻike (knowledge) she can to take back to her home island. The L\u0101naʻi<\/span> native mentors youth at the L\u0101nai Culture & Heritage Center (LCHC<\/abbr>) where she helps keiki explore the rich history and significant sites of the island. Alconcel will be taking on a big project this year at LCHC<\/abbr> as her team works to digitize archival collections to make it widely accessible to the community.<\/p>\n

“To be able to collaborate and learn from others from the Pacific region, the expertise of those from the museum studies program and museum personnel, has been maikaʻi<\/span> loa (excellent),” said Alconcel who has also worked for the UH<\/abbr> Maui College L\u0101naʻi<\/span> Education Center for the past 18 years.<\/p>\n

Participants will install a collective exhibit at the EWC<\/abbr> gallery to showcase their expertise. The exhibit will be open to the public on Sunday, July 31, 2–3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

The institute was made possible by a $350,000 grant<\/a> from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person museum institute was postponed and re-envisioned to include a six-month virtual program which began on January 24 and concludes with the in-person portion this summer at EWC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n