| By: CC Hovie Tribal Museums are the primary experts of cultural heritage for their Nations. Moreover, these Native Nation-controlled institutions are vital expressions of cultural sovereignty: having control of the things that make us who we are as Native Peoples. They protect the unique cultures, histories, and lifeways of Native Nations through Native leadership, knowledge systems, and self-determination. The Association on American Indian Affairs uplifts this work annually through its celebration of Tribal Museums Day, a national event each December that promotes and raises awareness of these Native-led cultural institutions. |  |
The United States entered into treaties with Native Nations in which Native Nations ceded vast amounts of their homelands in exchange for the United States’ promises to protect their remaining lands and resources, the rights to self-governance, and culture, among other things. In spite of their promises, the U.S. implemented assimilation policies intending to eradicate Native cultures, including, forcibly removing children to boarding schools and prohibiting important spiritual and cultural practices. These same policies allowed sacred items and Ancestors to be removed from battlefields and graves, leading to widespread theft and exploitation and caused profound intergenerational harm. These stolen belongings became part of a global Indigenous antiquities trade.(1)
Tribal Museums play a critical role in recovering and protecting these cultural items and stories, ensuring Natives Peoples can determine their proper care and meaning. Founded and operated by Native Nations, Tribal Museums are living expressions of resilience, identity, tradition, and contemporary life. They center Native voices and knowledges to provide culturally grounded education, language learning, art, law, and history. Many of these vital cultural hubs have been supported from the ground up using federal funding as a foundation for self-determination. Federal funding for Tribal Museums is not a gift—it is a trust responsibility rooted in treaty obligations, the U.S. Constitution, and federal law. Funding Tribal Museums is a matter of justice and accountability and fulfilling it is not a privilege--it’s a right.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has long been a vital source of support for Tribal Museums and Libraries across the country. As the only federal agency exclusively focused on supporting museums and libraries, IMLS plays a crucial role in sustaining these institutions. Earlier this year, the current administration moved to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services,(2) threatening the continued operation of these essential educational resources.(3) However, on May 13, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the elimination of IMLS and ordering the administration to restore its staff and grant programs.(4) Cuts or eliminations of IMLS funding jeopardize not only museum operations, but also critical programming such as language preservation, digital archiving, and cultural education—efforts that are key to maintaining our country’s collective memory and honoring the histories of the people and stories that have made us who we are.
Mainstream museums have built their histories exhibiting stolen Native cultural heritage which has consistently misrepresented Native cultures, silencing Native voices and treating Native Peoples as relics of the past. Even when well-intentioned, non-Native institutions often distort, objectify, commodify, and misinform when portraying Native cultures. These harmful stereotypes promote false narratives that erase Native Peoples and portray them as frozen in time.(5)
Tribal Museums push back against these misrepresentations by offering accurate, community-centered, and contemporary portrayals of Native knowledges and histories. Tribal Museums are dynamic spaces where Elders share traditional knowledge, where youth learn their languages and histories, and where Native Peoples exercise their sovereign rights to tell their own stories on their own terms. As Cynthia Chavez Lamar, a citizen of the San Felipe Pueblo and Director of the National Museum of the American Indian, explains: “Tribal museums and cultural centers are critical to Native communities as these are the places where they can tell their own histories, share their contemporary experiences, and increase public awareness.”(6)
From just three museums before the 1940s, to more than 130 today, the growth of Native-led museums represents a powerful assertion of cultural self-determination.(7) Tribal Museums create spaces for cultural exchange, strengthen intergenerational connections, and reinforce positive Native identities. They also contribute to economic development through cultural tourism, supporting local artists and entrepreneurs, and providing meaningful employment opportunities. Still, many Native Nations remain without dedicated cultural centers or museums due in part to the lack of funding.
Museums--whether Native or non-Native--are often the first sectors to lose funding during economic turmoil. For Native Nations, balancing efforts to protect cultural sovereignty with caring for their Peoples’ health, safety and security often overlaps in many ways. In addition to these economic pressures, Tribal Museums rarely have access to the same resources as mainstream museums. Some Native Nations with gaming revenues can fund their cultural programming and museums, but many others—especially those in remote areas—depend on federal support to keep their institutions alive.
Tribal Museums are not a luxury—they are a necessity for protecting diverse Native cultures and belongings, for supporting the sovereignty of Native Nations, and for educating the public about Native Nations. You can help protect the recent court victory by urging your representatives to uphold the federal trust responsibility to Native Nations and to support continued funding for IMLS and Tribal Museums.
The court decision is a step forward, but public support for Tribal Museums and cultural sovereignty is largely absent. As we approach this year’s Tribal Museum’s Day (December 6, 2025), it’s more important than ever to advocate for these institutions and the sovereign Nations they represent. Find a Tribal Museum today by using the interactive map on the Association’s website at Indian-Affairs.org/tribalmuseumsday to visit and learn directly from the source—the diverse Native Peoples who continue to live, lead, and thrive.
Sources
Tribal Museums play a critical role in recovering and protecting these cultural items and stories, ensuring Natives Peoples can determine their proper care and meaning. Founded and operated by Native Nations, Tribal Museums are living expressions of resilience, identity, tradition, and contemporary life. They center Native voices and knowledges to provide culturally grounded education, language learning, art, law, and history. Many of these vital cultural hubs have been supported from the ground up using federal funding as a foundation for self-determination. Federal funding for Tribal Museums is not a gift—it is a trust responsibility rooted in treaty obligations, the U.S. Constitution, and federal law. Funding Tribal Museums is a matter of justice and accountability and fulfilling it is not a privilege--it’s a right.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has long been a vital source of support for Tribal Museums and Libraries across the country. As the only federal agency exclusively focused on supporting museums and libraries, IMLS plays a crucial role in sustaining these institutions. Earlier this year, the current administration moved to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services,(2) threatening the continued operation of these essential educational resources.(3) However, on May 13, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the elimination of IMLS and ordering the administration to restore its staff and grant programs.(4) Cuts or eliminations of IMLS funding jeopardize not only museum operations, but also critical programming such as language preservation, digital archiving, and cultural education—efforts that are key to maintaining our country’s collective memory and honoring the histories of the people and stories that have made us who we are.
Mainstream museums have built their histories exhibiting stolen Native cultural heritage which has consistently misrepresented Native cultures, silencing Native voices and treating Native Peoples as relics of the past. Even when well-intentioned, non-Native institutions often distort, objectify, commodify, and misinform when portraying Native cultures. These harmful stereotypes promote false narratives that erase Native Peoples and portray them as frozen in time.(5)
Tribal Museums push back against these misrepresentations by offering accurate, community-centered, and contemporary portrayals of Native knowledges and histories. Tribal Museums are dynamic spaces where Elders share traditional knowledge, where youth learn their languages and histories, and where Native Peoples exercise their sovereign rights to tell their own stories on their own terms. As Cynthia Chavez Lamar, a citizen of the San Felipe Pueblo and Director of the National Museum of the American Indian, explains: “Tribal museums and cultural centers are critical to Native communities as these are the places where they can tell their own histories, share their contemporary experiences, and increase public awareness.”(6)
From just three museums before the 1940s, to more than 130 today, the growth of Native-led museums represents a powerful assertion of cultural self-determination.(7) Tribal Museums create spaces for cultural exchange, strengthen intergenerational connections, and reinforce positive Native identities. They also contribute to economic development through cultural tourism, supporting local artists and entrepreneurs, and providing meaningful employment opportunities. Still, many Native Nations remain without dedicated cultural centers or museums due in part to the lack of funding.
Museums--whether Native or non-Native--are often the first sectors to lose funding during economic turmoil. For Native Nations, balancing efforts to protect cultural sovereignty with caring for their Peoples’ health, safety and security often overlaps in many ways. In addition to these economic pressures, Tribal Museums rarely have access to the same resources as mainstream museums. Some Native Nations with gaming revenues can fund their cultural programming and museums, but many others—especially those in remote areas—depend on federal support to keep their institutions alive.
Tribal Museums are not a luxury—they are a necessity for protecting diverse Native cultures and belongings, for supporting the sovereignty of Native Nations, and for educating the public about Native Nations. You can help protect the recent court victory by urging your representatives to uphold the federal trust responsibility to Native Nations and to support continued funding for IMLS and Tribal Museums.
The court decision is a step forward, but public support for Tribal Museums and cultural sovereignty is largely absent. As we approach this year’s Tribal Museum’s Day (December 6, 2025), it’s more important than ever to advocate for these institutions and the sovereign Nations they represent. Find a Tribal Museum today by using the interactive map on the Association’s website at Indian-Affairs.org/tribalmuseumsday to visit and learn directly from the source—the diverse Native Peoples who continue to live, lead, and thrive.
Sources
- Association on American Indian Affairs, “Auctions and Private Collections of Ancestors and Sacred Objects,” https://www.indian-affairs.org/auctions-and-collections.html.
- Federal Register: The Daily Journal of the United States Government, “Executive Order 14238: Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy,” March 14, 2025, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/03/20/2025-04868/continuing-the-reduction-of-the-federal-bureaucracy
- American Library Association, “Federal Court Halts Dismantling of Federal Library Agency in ALA Lawsuit,” Press Release, May 1, 2025, https://www.ala.org/news/2025/05/federal-court-halts-dismantling-federal-library-agency-ala-lawsuit.
- Andrew Richard Albanese, “In a Major Win for Libraries, Federal Judge Orders IMLS to be Restored,” Words & Money, May 13, 2025, https://www.wordsandmoney.com/in-a-major-win-for-libraries-federal-judge-orders-imls-to-be-restored/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKTAaNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFiOENHSGhYMEtNYXVPeWhvAR7YOGblYJclQQjbUc6d_bAo_L9a_LAbQVOvxpHOqWi5RquXGNYO55zi-V9PlA_aem_BHjzJScOoGgMJh4i22ufPg
- NPR, All Things Considered, “Museums Close Native American Displays After New Regulations Take Effect,” January 27, 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/01/27/1227434311/museums-close-native-american-displays-after-new-regulations-take-effect.
- Association on American Indian Affairs, “Tribal Museums Day,” https://www.indian-affairs.org/tribalmuseumsday.html.
- Liz Hill, “Tribal Museums Endure,” American Indian: A Magazine of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian 14, no. 1 (Spring 2013), https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/tribal-museums-endure#:~:text=Such%20volunteer%20efforts%20are%20part,successful%20gaming%20tribes%20are%20suffering.
