May 2024
Museum News
What’s in this month’s feature:
- Exhibit Updates
- NAGPRA Updates
- Children’s Tours
- Collette Trips
Keeping It Fresh
We’re in the final stretch of this school year, and it’s been a busy one here at the SRJC Multicultural Museum. We’ve already surpassed last year’s total visitation numbers, with over 3,700 visitors walking through the doors as of today!
We have much news to share, from updated exhibits and children’s tours to repatriation projects and staff professional development and more.
Oh, and what is going inside the empty exhibit case on the right, you ask? This will soon house a MesoAmerica exhibit.
Professional Development
Caring for Indigenous Collections
In April, Rachel and student employee, Yana, were both fortunate to attend a three day workshop at the CIMCC in Santa Rosa on Caring For Indigenous Collections. This was a valuable opportunity to connect with people from all over the United States and learn about the many intricacies of maintaining and exhibiting indigenous collections. This workshop was given by museum professionals from the UCLA/Getty Museum and Field Museum in Chicago.
Updated and Upgraded!
Since we decided to make the Elsie Allen Pomo Basket Collection exhibit permanent, we concluded that the signage should be upgraded. With help from SRJC’s fantastic graphic designer, Jesse Hilsenrad, and his student employee, Allegra, this gorgeous blue signage was developed and installed over Spring Break, with some changes to the layout. It looks fantastic, and you should definitely come see it in person.
Student Volunteers Assist
We were so fortunate to find Carter, a student employee taking his last semester of Anthropology classes before he heads off to Cal Poly Humboldt next year. Carter enrolled in a Community Involvement class, earning credit for volunteer work doing research on Arctic objects in the Museum’s collections, and then helping to set up an exhibit, which we just completed on May 1st. It’s a thoughtful, culturally sensitive exhibit that will become part of our permanent Native American / First Nations exhibits. Great job, Carter!
May 6th, 2024 through the summer, 2024.
Special Presentation Friday, May 17th: SRJC student and museum volunteer Naveah Poueu will talk about her Pacific Island heritage and show us some of her dance moves at noon. No reservations required.
This exhibit showcases items from New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga. Created with student volunteer assistance.
PREVIOUS EXHIBITS
Roles, Rules, and Responsibility - November 2023-January 2024
Featuring a dynamic display of the work of three Northern California Two-Spirit weavers- Augustine Granados-Young (Mountain Maidu), Silver Galleto (Pomo, Coast Miwok), and Jarred Lincoln-Stremberg (Karuk/Shasta). The three weavers demonstrated their techniques and spoke from the heart to a packed house on November 3rd.
Black History Month
In February, the Museum exhibited a collection of Black History memorabilia from Dr. Eric Atkinson’s family. Aptly titled Dystopian Hamster Wheel, the exhibit opened on February 2nd, with an heartfelt talk by Dr. Atkinson. This exhibit was visited by many community members and SRJC students during its month-long residence.
A Glimpse of Treasure from Iran
For April, in observance of Middle Eastern and North African Heritage Month, the Museum collaborated with Heidi Saleh of the Art Department and Nasrin Naraghi of the Humanities Department. A small exhibit was launched, consisting of four interesting objects from the Middle East that have been part of the Museum’s collections, but that lacked information. Naraghi helped provide context and meaning to these items, and gave a lecture on April 4th in the museum.
SRJC Instructors Use the Museum as a Learning Lab
Ethnic Studies. Art. English for Multilingual Students. Anthropology. Botany. English. Journalism. These are just a sampling of the disciplines that regularly use the museum in their curriculum. Whether hosting a lecture in the museum or just sending students in to do an assignment, SRJC instructors and their classes bring energy to the Museum each semester!
NAGPRA and The SRJC Museum
You may notice changes to some of our exhibits, including items being removed from public display.
What is NAGPRA?
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act is a United States federal law enacted on November 16, 1990. The Act is primarily concerned with the identification of “human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony” and the disposition and repatriation of the remains or objects to lineal descendants, Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations.
Who determines what items fall under this law?
It is through consultations with tribes and deference to traditional cultural knowledge that ultimately determines which items fall under the law.
Why does this matter?
SRJC is dedicated to intentional and authentic relationship-building and consultation with Indigenous communities. While SRJC is required by law to achieve full NAGPRA compliance, active engagement and meaningful dialogue with Native American tribes fosters a respectful understanding of the cultural items, assists tribes in their cultural heritage efforts, and promotes collaborative research and public education.
Has the SRJC Museum Repatriated anything yet?
Yes! Just this Spring, the SRJC Multicultural Museum relinquished control over three objects to the Santa Ynez Chumash Tribe, and we are working with other tribes to return more cultural objects.
What a phenomenal year of kid’s tours it has been! From October of 2023 through April 2024, the Museum hosted more than 20 K-12 classes - most of them 3rd and 4th graders. That’s over 470 students! No wonder we’re exhausted!! So many fun activities were enjoyed by the kids, including scavenger hunts, presentations from local Native American community members like Silver Galleto, MaDonna Feather-Cruz, and Yana Ross, and one lucky class even got a visit from our school mascot, Roscoe! This program is run entirely by student employees and volunteers, with presenters paid from the small fees that we collect from schools to cover our expenses. We are working on finding a way to hire a dedicated employee to run this important program, which ties into the California Core Curriculum on Native American History.
SRJC Multicultural Museum is happy to partner with Collette, the oldest tour company in the United States - in operation since 1918! Join the growing group of community members that have traveled with us. Together, we have explored Vietnam, Scotland, Australia, Costa Rica, Kenya, South Africa, Spain, and much more. Travel with a local group to places you have always wanted to visit.
Trips start in Santa Rosa and are guided by experienced tour managers the whole way through. Every detail is planned for you, including many meals, and excursions. Rest easy knowing that hassle-free travel insurance is included.
Visit our website for more information on upcoming trips that are still open for registration for 2024-2025:
https://museum.santarosa.edu/educational-travel
- Kingdoms of Southeast Asia (Oct. 24, 2024 – Nov. 11, 2024)
- Spectacular South Africa (Feb. 20 – Mar. 5, 2025)
- Spotlight on Tuscany (Mar. 5 – 13, 2025)
- Cultural Treasures of Japan (Mar. 9 - 22, 2025)
On a very modest budget, with only one full time staff member and a small group of dedicated student employees and volunteers, the SRJC Multicultural Museum provides services to over 4,300 visitors a year from SRJC and the broader community. By donating money or time to the museum through volunteering, you will be helping us to continue to provide quality exhibits and immersive learning experiences while taking top notch care of our world class collections of cultural objects from all over the world. The SRJC Museum is a gem! Thank you for helping us keep it running smoothly!
HOW CAN I HELP?
Visit the Museum's Giving Page at
https://give.santarosa.edu/give/470061/#!/donation/checkout
Interested in talking to someone about volunteering?
Call Rachel at (707) 524-1862
The SRJC Multicultural Museum is located in Bussman Hall, behind Analy Hall and the Doyle Library on the Santa Rosa Junior College campus. Look for the two black dog sculptures!
(707)527-4479 | museum@santarosa.edu
CURRENT MUSEUM HOURS:
Monday - Friday 10:00 am - 3:00 pm*
*through the Spring semester, 2024
SUMMER HOURS:
Monday - Thursday 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
beginning May 29th, 2024
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** Website (https://museum.santarosa.edu/)
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Our mailing address is:
1501 Mendocino Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95401