I originally made this site to document my experience working at a natural history museum. I wanted it to be a place where I could have meaningful dialogue about the world of museums and if it is even possible “decolonize” these spaces. What I learned is that museums and their leaders, who are mostly wealthy white men, only want Brown/Black employees who they can extract information/labor from. I learned that as an Indigenous Woman, my worth in a museum is limited to the knowledge or resources I am willing to share. I learned that mechanisms of settler colonial violence are inherently embedded in these institutions. Though these revelations came at a cost, they also strengthened me. 

What gives me the strength to keep going? What keeps me motivated or eager to keep pushing? Indigenous people. My family. Our ancestors in these museum spaces that have not been interacted with by  members of their community’s for hundreds of years. A power rests with those ancestors, and I have personally seen the way their presence can change someone’s life. They deserve to honored when out on display or in storage. I speak for them because it’s my duty.  I say uncomfortable things because I can’t imagine they are comfortable laying dormant away from home. These efforts are for them. For the next generation. For the generation after that.