First they disappeared them from butter boxes, now they want them banished forever, with just a Land Acknowledgement left behind
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Biden’s new tribal consent laws force NYC Museum of Natural History to close Native American exhibits
History lovers slammed the American Museum of Natural History for shuttering all its Native American-related displays Friday, with one disappointed historophile saying the now-empty major exhibition halls and display cabinets show “history being made secret.”
“People come here to learn and see the displays,” Dan Shoop, 60, told The Post as he wandered the eerily abandoned halls dedicated to the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains.
“If it’s not on public display, it robs the people of a chance to learn about a culture of great historic importance to this country.”
The shocking evacuation started just hours after museum director Sean Decatur announced the changes in a letter to staff Friday morning.
“The halls we are closing are artifacts of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives and indeed shared humanity of Indigenous peoples,” Decatur wrote in the missive obtained by The Post.
“Actions that may feel sudden to some may seem long overdue to others,” he added.
The closures will result in almost 10,000 square feet of exhibition spaces being off-limits to visitors, the New York Times noted.
In compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the AMNH stripped the displays of its Native relics with plans to ship them back to the tribes they once belonged to.
“As I look around — these are basket-weaving displays and over there is snowshoe making — I wonder how much of this display is particularly disrespectful to religious beliefs. It doesn’t seem to be ceremonial,” [Shoop] added, noting his hopes the displays would make a return.
Shoop was just one of many New Yorkers who visited the museum Friday to pay their final respects to the exhibits.
A museum member told The Post they opposed how the AHNM went about the closures and wished there had been an earlier warning before the cabinets were stripped.
“I think New Yorkers should have had a chance to say goodbye,” said the person, who asked to remain anonymous.
“You can’t make a reservation for tomorrow. It would have been much better if they said it was closing two weeks from now. Many people in this hall said they wanted a chance for their kids to see it.”
According to the AMNH, the exhibits will reopen, though it could not provide a timeline.
“Some objects may never come back on display as a result of the consultation process. But we are looking to create smaller-scale programs throughout the museum that can explain what kind of process is underway,” Decatur told the Times.
