Friday, March 21, 2025, 6:00 PM

NAGPRA and the Museum World Presented by Dr. Dirk Van Tuerenhout

This presentation starts with a review of the relationships that were forged over a period of 500 years, starting with the arrival of European settlers until today. It covers the area known today as the United States of America, and chronicles the changing attitude of the US government towards the Indigenous Tribes and Nations. These ranged from recognition of independent Indigenous nations with whom one could make treaties, to “wards of the state,” to Nations and Tribes that have rights. Native American Graves and Repatriation Protection Act (NAGPRA), a Federal Law, came into being to address issues that arose over these five centuries: the repatriation of human remains and cultural patrimony from museums and institutions. The presentation ends with a brief overview of NAGPRA and how museums are working to implement this legislation.

SPEAKER’S BIO

Dr. Dirk Van Tuerenhout joined the museum staff as curator of anthropology in 1999. He earned Master’s degrees in ancient history, as well as art history and archaeology, both from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. He also holds a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Tulane University.

Together with his colleagues, he takes care of the museum’s human-made artifacts, both those in storage and on display. He has worked on permanent and temporary exhibits. Among the former is the renovated John P. McGovern Hall of the Americas, which opened to the public in 2022. The central message of this exhibit is one that Indigenous people want all of us to know: “We were here. We are still here.” Collaboration with Indigenous advisors resulted in a respectful representation of Indigenous cultures, past and present. Belongings, video materials, as well as photos and dioramas, immerse visitors in the experiences of the people who have inhabited this part of the world since time immemorial. Ongoing collaboration with Indigenous advisors ensures that this Hall of the Americas is a living hall, and that the voices of those who are still here continue to be heard.

Dr. Van Tuerenhout also curated the section on human evolution in the Morian Hall of Paleontology. The story of humankind starts about 6 million years ago in Africa and continues to the earliest evidence of human presence in what is now called the Americas. In that sense, the display in this hall dovetails with that of the Hall of the Americas, where we present the story of Paleoindian presence up to contemporary Indigenous people. 

Among the temporary exhibits he curated are Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia (2007). This exhibit was organized at the request of the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. We benefited from collaboration with the staff at Ethiopia’s National Museum. Dr. Donald Johanson, who discovered Lucy, provided valuable support and insights.

The alleged end of the world in 2012, and the supposed connection with Maya culture, provided an educational opportunity to set the record straight. The exhibit, Maya 2012: Prophecy becomes History, told the story of pre-Contact Maya society, and continued it up until today. Most importantly, it ended with a reminder that the world would continue well past 2012. And here we are.

La Virgen de Guadalupe: Empress of the Americas (2015) highlighted the well-known image of the Virgin. The clash between two worlds, that of the Spanish Conquistadors and that of pre-Contact civilizations in the Americas, formed the backdrop to the story. It started with the conquest of Spain by the Moors in 711 AD, continued with Mexica culture and its conquest by the Spanish, the colonial period, and ended with contemporary expressions of veneration of the Virgin.

Temporary exhibits include The Dead Sea Scrolls (2004), Mummy: The Inside Story (2005), Imperial Rome (2007), Secrets of the Silk Road (2010), The Cave Paintings of Lascaux and Magna Carta (2014), and Pompeii: The Exhibition (2020). 

Dr. Van Tuerenhout is the official NAGPRA contact at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

PAST EVENTS

Speaker: Chiara Beaumont, Do’wal Sehi

Friday, February 7, 2025, 6:00 PM

On Friday, February 7, at 6:00 p.m., join Language Keeper Do’wal Sehi (Sunshine in English) as she shares a humble retelling of the journey of revitalizing the Karankawa Language. This lecture is 45 minutes long and begins with a contemporary history of the Karankawa People, the discovery and cumulation of Karankawa Vocabulary, the hardships along the way, new discoveries, and where the path of larger cultural revitalization is heading. Hear the tried-and-true story of how nothing that is ever labeled as “extinct” really ever is and also see the exhibit KARANKAWA: AN ENDURING CULTURE OF TEXAS EXHIBIT on display until March 29, 2025. $5 Program Ticket includes wine and cheese reception and access to the exhibit.

Speaker’s Biography:

Do’wal Sehi is an indigenous educator, resistance artist, and language keeper from the Karankawa Hawk Clan. She currently works as an Indigenous Educator for a Health and Wellness Resort where she is inspired by Karankawa spirituality and ideology to hold space for and educate others to reconnect to the natural world, undo harmful colonial rhetoric, and find peace within themselves and the Mother Earth.

Her goal is to protect and serve her people, the original land stewards, and to educate those who are seeking it. On this journey, she has organized protests for her people, spoken at call to actions advocating for repatriation, reparations, and basic human rights, designed and offered classes and lectures, as well as shown in gallery spaces across Austin, TX. Her most recent goal is to inspire resistance, decolonization, and education through her art and lectures.