13. Museums in the North

Overview

Module 13 will introduce students to some of the exciting and diverse museums across the circumpolar north.

By the end of this module students will be able to:

• Identify three major northern museums
• Describe two challenges faced by all circumpolar museums
• Name two unique characteristics of museums in the north

Museums in the north – an overview

The circumpolar north and the Arctic is home to diverse peoples and ecosystems. But there are many elements that tie us together. Instructor Angela Linn provides an overview of some of the museums and museum support organizations across the Circumpolar North within the Arctic region. (20:18)

Alaska Museums – Challenges & Opportunities

Instructor Angela Linn talks with Museums Alaska Executive Director Dixie Clough and Alaska State Museum Curator of Statewide Services Mary Irvine. They share their personal backgrounds and training, what the key responsibilities are for their unique organizations in Alaska, and how they work together to provide opportunities for Alaska museums and museum professionals. (37:59)

creating and using extensive datasets in natural and cultural collections in the north

Steffi Ickert-Bond and Josh Reuther provide readings about the creation and use of extensive datasets in natural and cultural collections in the North with examples from the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

Long-trending datasets in natural history collections, their use and additional need for expansion of these datasets are the focus of this presentation by Steffi Ickert-Bond. (9:28)

The museums of Alaska and the circumpolar north are part of unique local environments, but also part of a global community. Learn this list of terms to better comprehend the readings and videos for this module.

1. Circumpolar North
2. Field Services
3. Federal Records Management
4. Arctic browning
5. Long-trending datasets
6. Phenology
7. Arctic
8. Sámi
9. Historical Ecology
10. Inuit
11. High-latitude
12. Nunavut

Reading / Video content

Required:

VIDEO

Iqaluit Museum has its first Inuk curator and she has big ideas (1:47)

Toolik Lake Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Station, Alaska (10:15)

Dawson Before the Gold: Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre – Yukon Territory, Canada (1:48)

READING

• Alaska Museum Survey 2020
• Huettmann, F. & S.M. Ickert-Bond. 2018. On open access, data mining and plant conservation in the Circumpolar North with an online data example of the Herbarium, University of Alaska Museum of the North. Arctic Science 4: 433–470 (2018)

In January 1994, the ICOM journal Museum International published a special issue on Northern Museums. You can see the full table of contents with abstracts here, and selected articles linked below (total ~50 pages reading) – please select five of the readings below that are of most interest to you:

• Editorial – Marcia Lord p. 3
• The Nature of Northern Museums – Charles D. Arnold, p. 4-5
• A link with the People: The Alaska State Museum – Steve Henrikson, p. 6-10
• Russia: Small Museums of the North – Mikhail Danilov, p. 11-14
• Carved from the Land: the Eskimo Museum – Lorraine Brandson, p. 15-17
• Recent Exhibits Focus on Arctic Art – n/a, p. 18-20
• The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre: more than a museum – Boris Atamanenko, Barb Cameron, Ian Moir, p. 21-25
• Recovering the Past: the Greenland National Museum and Archives – Joel Berglund, p. 26-29
• Managing Change: the Provincial Museum of Lapland – Raili Huopainen, p. 30-32
• Tromso Museum: A Showcase for Nature – Brynhild Morkved, Rob Barret, p. 33-36
• Svalbard Museum: The World’s Northernmost Museum – Ellen Marie Hagevik, p. 37-40
• A Time of Survival: Museums in the 1990s – Barry H. Rosen, p. 41-44

Recommended:

• “Anchorage Museum Encourages Global Dialogue About the North with Polar Lab” – J. Decker (2014)
• “Ecce Homo: Science and Society Need Anthropological Collections” – Sholts et al. (2016) – warning, this reading contains images of human skeletal materials
• “Pacific Walrus Diet Across 4000 Years of Changing Sea Ice Conditions” – Clark et al. (2019)
• “Phenological research using herbarium specimens.” Willis et al. (2017)
• “The Uninhabitable Earth” – D. Wallace-Wells (2017)

For Exploration:

• Alaska State Museum Office of Statewide Services
• Museums Alaska
• Denali National Park and Preserve
• Anchorage Museum Talks & Tours
• The Whale – new museum in Norway – architecture as an interpretive tool
• Alaska Moving Institute Image Preservation Association (AMIPA) – UAA
• Historical Collections at the Alaska State Library (Juneau)
• ASL Historical Collections YouTube Channel
• Inupiat Heritage Center (Utqiagvik)
• Tuzzy Consortium Library (Utqiagvik)
• KYUK Archives (Bethel)

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Quiz

Log into our course shell in Canvas and go to ‘Quizzes’ on the left side menu.

Take ‘13. Quiz’: Vocabulary relating to Northern Museums. You will have up to three attempts to match the vocabulary and definitions. Click over to Canvas to take quiz 13.

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Meet Up

Time to get together! This is optional but highly encouraged. We will meet via Zoom at 12:30 pm (AKSDT) on Friday April 21. The link to the session can be found in this Google Document (you must be part of the class to view the document). If you are unable to join the meeting will be recorded and you will be expected to review the recording prior to writing your discussion post (see below).

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Assignment – Discussion

Activity: Find two northern museums to compare and contrast. Make one of them a museum in Alaska and one from another northern region (in the circumpolar north OR who define themselves as representing “the north”). Compare and contrast at least two elements from each museum (e.g., their mission statements, their organizational charts/system, their collections focus, their exhibition program, their outreach, etc.).

1. Create a new post on this website responding to this activity. Your post should be roughly 500 words and should include an image. Think about reading and video material from this week and personal experiences you have had to help illustrate your ideas.
2. At the end of your post, include a question for your fellow students to answer.
3. Respond to each others’ posts (you will need to respond to/comment on at least two other posts).
4. Select “13. Northern Museums Discussion” from the list of discussion categories on the right hand side of your posting window on the dashboard.

Fun tidbit not to be tested on.

The Sámi Museum and Nature Centre Siida is located in the town of Inari, in the Sámi Homeland. The Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland Nature Centre are responsible for organizing activities at Siida. Siida’s permanent exhibition was designed together by the Sámi Museum and Metsähallitus. The exhibition combines Sámi culture and northern Lapland’s nature in a unique manner.

In addition to the Sámi Museum and Nature Centre, the Siida building houses the Siida Shop, Restaurant Sarrit and Inari Tourist Information. Today, they are one of Northern Lapland’s most popular destinations. In 2018, a total of 117,079 people visited Siida: these included exhibition and event visitors, as well as Metsähallitus hiking guidance and Inari Tourist Information, Siida Shop and Restaurant Sarrit customers. — Source