Past Programs - 2009
LECTURE
Welcome to a Native Place: The Importance of Indigenous Recruitment and Retention to the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution
Thursday, November 12, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The Native voice is essential to the mission of the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution. Department of Museum Programs Cultural Information Assistant Martin Earring explores the issues surrounding indigenous employee recruitment, retention, and advancement at NMAI and suggests approaches for acclimating employees moving from the rural West to Washington, DC.
Martin Earring recently presented this paper in Seoul, Korea at the International Council of Museums International Committee for Museums of Ethnography conference and presented at ICOM’s 2008 INTERCOM: International Committee on Museum Management conference in Rotorua, New Zealand.
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the program. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible.
The Museum will be closed for a two-year modernization project. For more information on the museum, call (202) 208-4743 or visit www.doi.gov/interiormuseum. more
SPECIAL EVENT
Fall Spirited Family Day
Saturday, October 17, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Learn about local bats and see specimens from the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and National Museum of Natural History at 1:00 p.m.
Make your own spooky bat mobiles and origami bats from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
This event is in collaboration with the Neighbors to the President Consortium, a group of cultural institutions in the White House neighborhood. Halloween-inspired activities will be offered throughout the day at various museums. Please click here for a full schedule of events and map.
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the program. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible.
LECTURE
A MMS Legacy: The Fabric of Invertebrate Taxonomy
30 Years of Archiving MMS Marine Invertebrates at the Smithsonian Institution
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Since 1979, the Minerals Management Service has conducted intensive environmental studies on the Outer Continental Shelf. So far, these studies have resulted in the collection and identification of approximately 300 new species of marine invertebrates. Cheryl Bright, Smithsonian Institution Department of Invertebrate Zoology Collection Manager, will describe the Smithsonian and MMS collaborative archiving project, including her role in receiving specimens, curating, and making specimens available to international scientists. Greg Boland, MMS Environmental Sciences Biological Oceanographer, will discuss the collection process and the obstacles that arise when removing specimens from great ocean depths.
MMS conducts many biological projects related to research regarding the development of offshore energy and mineral resources. The archiving of the collections by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History has provided taxonomic verification and greater accessibility to marine invertebrate specimens for research.
The museum is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm and from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm on the third Saturday of each month, except for all Federal holidays. For more information on the museum, call (202) 208-4743 or visit www.doi.gov/interiormuseum. more
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the program. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible.
LECTURE
Indians, Corn, and the American West: Maynard Dixon’s New Deal Mural for the U.S. Department of the Interior
Saturday, September 19, 2009
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Erika Doss will highlight the complexities surrounding government-funded art projects during the 1930s and discuss how American Artist Maynard Dixon negotiated with New Deal tastemakers in his depiction of modern American Indians and the American West. In 1937, the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture, a New Deal arts program, commissioned a two-panel mural for the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in the Main Interior Building. Dixon was asked to depict ‘themes taken from the activities’ of the BIA. Following the lecture, visitors are invited to view Dixon’s Indian and Soldier and Indian and Teacher murals in the Main Interior Building.
Erika Doss, Chair and Professor in the Department of American Studies at the University of Notre Dame, has authored publications including; Benton, Pollock, and the Politics of Modernism: From Regionalism to Abstract Expressionism (1991), Spirit Poles and Flying Pigs: Public Art and Cultural Democracy in American Communities (1995). Her latest work, Memorial Mania: Self, Nation, and the Culture of Commemoration in Contemporary America will be published by the University of Chicago Press in 2010.
The museum is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm and from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm on the third Saturday of each month, except for all Federal holidays. For more information on the museum, call (202) 208-4743 or visit www.doi.gov/interiormuseum. more
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the program. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible.
LECTURE
Sandpainting of the Arrow People: Keeper of Hidden Things, Revealer of Faith
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Emily Palus, National Curator and NAGPRA Coordinator for the Bureau of Land Management, will explore the many stories of the Sandpainting of the Arrow People rug and discuss how the textile represents the transition of Navajo weaving from a local craft industry to a national art market and the historical evolution of sandpainting imagery from sacred to secular.
Sandpainting of the Arrow People conveys information about cross cultural exchange and the relationships among Navajo weavers and Navajo medicine men with non-native anthropologists and Indian traders. Inspired by Navajo medicine man Miguelito’s religious design, Navajo weaver Bahe Shondee created the textile at the request of famed Indian trader Roman Hubbell. This rug presents a story of tradition and dynamic change during a period of rapid transformation in the West and among American Indians and Euro-Americans.
Emily Palus oversees and coordinates the management of archaeological, historical, and paleontological collections from public lands, as well as repatriation of Native American cultural items to affiliated Indian tribes. Inspired by her family’s history with Indian trading on the Navajo Reservation, she studied the dynamic and interconnected relationships among Indian traders, Navajo weavers, and traditional medicine men. Her grandfather and four great-uncles ran trading posts on the reservation during the first half of the 20th Century. Ms. Palus curated “Shooting Chant: the Story of a Navajo Sandpainting Rugs,” a 2001 exhibition of the Interior Museum featuring the monumental rug, Sandpainting of the Arrow People, which is currently on view in the Interior Museum until November 30th.
The museum is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm and from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm on the third Saturday of each month, except for all Federal holidays. For more information on the museum, call (202) 208-4743 or visit www.doi.gov/interiormuseum. more
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the program. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible.
WORKSHOP
The Mural Project: Through the Eyes of a Master Photographer
Saturday, August 15, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Spend an afternoon exploring photographic murals of the National Parks created by Ansel Adams for the Department of the Interior. Learn to “see” like the great photographer by focusing on how composition, light, and depth express beauty. Create your own black and white murals through the medium of torn paper landscapes and then take them home to share your vision with others. Jodi Lister will conduct this three-hour workshop for children ages 8-13. This workshop corresponds with the Museum’s current exhibition, Ansel Adams: The Mural Project 1941 – 1942.
Jodi Lister currently teaches photography and computer graphics at Battlefield High School in Haymarket, VA. She has helped develop award-winning photography programs at several public high schools throughout the country and has taught at the Center for Creative Photography, the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute, and the University of Arizona. more
Register for this free workshop by calling Diana Ziegler at (202) 208-1169.
LECTURE
Documenting the American West: Edward Curtis’ Contributions to American Indian Culture and Artistry
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Edward Curtis’ photographs are appreciated for their artistic merit and their ability to reveal the personality, traditions, and culture of the subject. Marian Hansson, Bureau of Indian Affairs Curator, will explore Curtis’ work and how his photographs have contributed to Indian artistry, genealogical research, and legislation.
Photographs and documents dispersed throughout local, state, and national archives are sought out and researched by many American Indians. Many have discovered document collections are a useful tool for researching ancestry and legal issues. Documents, such as the photographs by Edward Curtis, reveal information that can be cross-referenced with oral traditions.
Edward Curtis photographed Native Americans across the American West for over 30 years during the early 1900s. During this time he produced over 40,000 images which documented the traditions and cultures of over 80 tribal groups. His subjects ranged from children to renowned figures, including Geronimo, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud, and Medicine Crow. more
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the program. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible.
LECTURE
Contemporary Landscape Photography and the Legacy of Ansel Adams
Saturday, June 20, 2009
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m
For the past four decades, landscape photography has attempted to negotiate the space between Ansel Adam's vision of an Arcadian wilderness and the details of the neighboring landscape. Toby Jurovics, Curator of Photography at the Smithsonian America Museum, relates how contemporary photography is driven by the same concern and affection for the American landscape.
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance,please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the event. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible. more
LECTURE
National Fishing and Boating Week Speaker Series
Thursday, June 11, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Frank Peterson, Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation Presidentand CEO, will discuss how stimulating conservation through participation invigorates the public and achieves measurable natural resource benefits.
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance,please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the event. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible. more
LECTURE
Earth From Space
Wednesday June 3, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
A New generation of orbiting sensors has revolutionized our view of Earth, Andrew Johnston, a geographer at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, will explain satellite remote sensing and showcase many of the remarkable images were made and how they are used to better understand Earth's dynamic environment.
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance,please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the event. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible. more
LECTURE AND WORKSHOP
An Artist's Adventure:
Rare and Endangered Plants of the Texas Hill Country
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Lecture 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Workshop 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Lotus McElfish is a part of a growing community of artists that is dedicated to the contemporary renaissance of botanical art, updating a historically significant art form.
Following the lecture, Lotus will conduct a two-hour workshop on drawing botanical portraits with graphite.
Preregistration is required for the workshop, which is limited to twenty participants. Please bring your own art pencils and art paper. Register for this portion of the event by calling 202-208-4743.
Special Assistance – For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance,please notify museum staff at (202) 208-4743 in advance of the event. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible. more
LECTURE
Biodiversity: An Introduction to the Tapestry of Life
Friday, May 8, 2009
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
As extinction rates rise and the number of species at risk increase, the importance and complexities of biodiversity becames more acute. Muir will address what biodiversity is, why it is essential to human welfare, and what regulations are enforced by the Endangered Species. Act. This event is in conjunction with the Endangered Species: Flora and Fauna in Peril Exhibition on view in the Interior Museum until May 16 th.
Special assistance - For those in nned of special assistance ( such as an interpreter for the hearing impared) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify musuem staff at ( 2020 208- 4743 in advance of the event. Special needswill be accommodated whenever possible.
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ANNUAL RACHEL CARSON LECTURE
Videophilia and Our Changing Relationship with Nature
Saturday, April 18, 2009
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Since the late 1980s, after years of steady increase, participation in nature-based activities has waned by as much as 25%, leading to serious implications for biodiversity and conservation. Dr. Zaradic will discuss her videophilia research, possible outreach strategies, and field questions following the lecture.
This free program is open to the public and also available for credit for DOI employees through the DOI Learning Managerment System. Please register for this course at https://doilearn.doi.gov in order to receive credit.
Special Assistance - For those in need of special assistance (such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired) or inquiries regarding the handicapped entrance, please notify museum staff at (202) 208- 4743 in advance of the event. Special needs will be accommodated whenever possible. more
