Care and Management of Cultural Items
for Tribal Museums and Individuals
Natural Resources

Do you have items of historical importance to your tribe that you wish to preserve for generations to come? Have you recently established a new community or tribal museum? Are there important artifacts gathering dust on your shelves? Do you want to learn fast, easy and long-term solutions to keep your items of cultural significance protected and preserved? In this class, you'll explore the basics of artifact preservation and learn about low-cost permanent solutions to keep your items protected from pests, temperature and humidity fluctuations, sunlight, dust and damage from handling.

The necessity to preserve culture is a growing concern for many tribal communities, and preserving culturally significant artifacts is one way to ensure that this knowledge is available to tribes' younger generations. Creating a museum, however, can be a daunting task. Learn about the planning, materials and skills required to manage your community or tribal museum's collections.

In some cases, individuals may themselves possess items of cultural significance that they wish to preserve, especially when funding or community support cannot be mobilized to create a formal museum. Even if you're not employed by a tribal museum, you can be proactive in preserving your items for the future. The skills you'll learn in this exciting course will also make you an excellent candidate for museum volunteer or internship positions!

Topics that will be covered include:

Basics of Preservation Archival and acid-free materials Basic and advanced box-making Creating mounts Preventing and halting damage Storage Solutions Basic needs Temporary vs. permanent storage Space and climate requirements and fixes Organization of collections Lids Policies Acquisitions Archival standards Collections Conservation Exhibition planning: Conceptualization Research Documentation Installation Exhibition types: Traveling Permanent Temporary Loans

Dealing with Common Challenges Budget restrictions Ensuring restricted access Pests Solutions for items that need to be protected but also used Prioritizing your resource allocation Museum Personnel Responsibilities Director Curator Collections manager Conservator Exhibitions — technicians Maintenance Admissions Housekeeping Collections maintenance schedules Record-keeping: Database creation and maintenance Temporary transmittal forms Loan forms Acquisitions Photo documentation Data input protocol NAGPRA Basics