We Must Decolonize Our Museums | Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko | TEDxDirigo

As Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko points out, museums are, historically, intimately tied with colonization practices; this persists today. A large part of Catlin-Legutko's work as a museum administrator is focused on giving voice and the power to direct back to the people whose culture and heritage are represented in the museum, advocating, through practice, for “decolonizing” the museum space.
Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko is a passionate advocate for museums and their intersections with social justice and activism, community development, and memory and remembrance. Prior to joining the Abbe Museum as President/CEO in 2009, Cinnamon was the director of the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where she led the organization to the National Medal for Museum Service. Catlin-Legutko serves on the board of the American Alliance of Museums, the Maine Humanities Council, and the Smithsonian Affiliates Advisory Council. She is president of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce board and serves on the Island Housing Trust board. Her most recent publication, “Museum Administration 2.0,” was released by Rowman & Littlefield in 2016. Catlin-Legutko received her BA from Purdue University, and is a graduate of the University of Arkansas MA program in anthropology. She is a 2004 graduate of the Seminar for Historical Administration and joined as a faculty member in 2014.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@bathshebajohnson2518]

RIP Cinnamon. I am honored to have been able to take one of your classes. An educator through and through. A beautiful and kind soul. Rest easy.

[@kuro758]

very interesting topic! I do not understand why some people are upset in the comments. I would like to hear if any upset person is willing to explain their perspective

[@christophervondoom3311]

Where would the living record of past peoples be without any one of these institutions and academic theories? Museum collections and studies of artifacts have preserved cultures that may have died out without these institutions. The grievances of these cultures are valid but without these things being collected, preserved, cataloged, and shared with the community and peer-reviewed, they would be forever lost and unknown. I concede we are not perfect people, and there have been serious wrongs in the past. However, by working together and not tearing each other apart, we all can gain a greater understanding. These cultural items should bridge our differences and we should celebrate and share in the lives and cultures of others. These aren't trophies of a defeated people, but rather the perceptions of it. Perceptions are harder than railroad iron to bend or mend. If you set about in the business of appeasing everyone, you resolve nothing. A prime example is the repatriation of cultural items. These items will never be seen again and the human race will never know of their cultural importance to human history. Celebrate where we came from and the strides, we as human animals, have made. From barbaric practices against each other in the past, we have evolved to where we are at today. In the entire timeline of human history attempts to live in our environment and the way we did it in the past were based on what we knew then. We look back and cannot understand them because we have forethought what happened, but they didn't. We think we are more educated, more cultured, and more understanding than past humans yet we search for indifference in every aspect of life and peruse them, snuffing them out.....all perceptions.

[@ianlagace4230]

Juat say NO to BOOK BURNING.

[@emil.jansson]

Wow this is so exciting and true!!!!

[@2day23]

Thanks for exploring with your audience the degradations that have repeatedly happened to indigenous cultures and peoples while their "artifacts" are displayed in museums usually founded by wealthy white men and women. It is great to have museums but seeing how museums can connect and RESPECT people whose lives and histories have been "explained" by colonizers is critical to moving into the 21st century...I don't want to demonize the men and women who built these museums but it is time to alter our perspectives and work together to bring a more balanced picture to the museum structures all over the US..

[@danremenyi1179]

There is no doubt that there are some very complicated issues addressed here and there appears to be an assumption that the right storey to tell is always that understood by the indigenous people. Of course their story should be told and it is now not generally done well, if at all. But there is the story of the colonisers which may be worth listening to as well. By the way many colonisers came from dreadfully underprivileged backgrounds and did not have much choice in going to the colonies. In the case of Australia many of them were originally sent there as a punishment. But Cinnamon is right that something needs to be done to improve the situation.

[@theundead1600]

Where else can I see my people art, culture and ancient way of life and if museums don’t share how in the USA so is see ancient Celt, Norse, Japanese history? Also what she Dosent touch on is how museums share? I don’t see much of Japan because Japan dosent share with all so yea. The focal point in how things haven’t changed she points at on point but she’s very focused on one point for just one people. Her discretions are indicated mostly in some places my museum has much to discribe the native of each area. Sounds like we’ll less scientifically and more artistic which isn’t all bad. My museum I visit has been very honest for decades. This feel very well pandered. Oh the mascot issue , yea I’ve heard a lot of native who did car or didn’t mind . So there are voices of natives who didn’t get heard. Because there not popular or with this person.

[@smolbirb2]

As a Museums Studies Student, racism and colonialism is STRONG in museums and white culture. Idk why there are so many people upset by this? Guilt?

[@viggoeriksen1996]

Coming next: We Must Decolonize Science.

[@HGZie]

Who is saying that? What a brainlet take.

[@celebrityguest.9530]

i mean yeah

[@indulgentenhydra5997]

@@HGZie A lot of people, and they're right.

[@indulgentenhydra5997]

Literally yes

[@masterofrockets]

Doesn’t she know that colonization is part of western culture and museums are as well?

[@Yeetmaster3000-co4on]

It's part of every culture, but I have to see anyone trying to "decolonize" the Middle East, or the Chinese Communist Party.

[@TheMuggeBoys]

"problematic", ugh, so tired of that word!

[@Dracopol]

"Problematic" and " toxic" are just epithets tossed around with no explanation. Chemicals are toxic and corrosive, but it is up to you to work with as broad a range of PEOPLE and their opinions as possible. Your emotions should dissolve long before others' rights do.

[@FAMEROB]

im 1% native american Indian listen to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@grahamt5924]

She just pisses me off.

[@kaheglar]

Good job of summarizing the problem associated with colonialism. Equally good job disregarding any benefits.

[@mayamachine]

Stephen Smyth you must be white,,, only white people benefit from colonialism,,, all other living things suffer... There are no benefits, Cleary your a overprivileged white dude....