Keeping Secrets, Honoring Ritual Knowledge: Documentary Native American Museum Collections and Archives
Loading...
Authors
Huizinga, Suzy
Issue Date
2012
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
This master's project explores Southwestern Native American collections and archives that represent ritual knowledge and how cultural sensitivity toward such items could challenge management of public access, database information about the object, and object preservation. Collections and archives representing ritual knowledge consist of written documentation, artwork, photographs, and audio and visual recordings of sacred Southwestern Native American practices and replicas of sacred objects. Some of these sacred practices are utilized in traditional knowledge systems that only allow specific individuals access to esoteric knowledge. Objects such as a photograph of a Zuni dance or an audio tape of a Navajo ceremony can represent such secret knowledge. Copies of sacred objects made for souvenirs or educational purposes are sometimes considered to be as authentic and as sacred as an object made specifically for a religious use.