Karankawa Exhibit Speaker Series: NAGPRA and the Museum World Presented by Dr. Dirk Van Tuerenhout

Details

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.