D10: Addressing Contaminated Cultural Heritage

Greater Columbus Convention Center 

Room: A 122 

CM Credit Hours: 1 

From the late 1800s well into the 20th century, museums utilized pesticides to safeguard their collections, including Native American artifacts, from rodent and insect damage. This use left behind toxic residues that create risks for museum staff and tribal communities. The 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) mandates that federally-funded institutions must repatriate holdings of ancestors, sacred items, funerary items, and cultural patrimony back to tribal communities. Unfortunately, many tribal communities have received without prior notification of their previous pesticide treatment; only to discover that the repatriated items were contaminated with chemicals that present health hazards to descendant communities. This session will present: a) an introduction to NAGPRA; b) the challenges in providing OEHS support to native communities; c) the history of contaminated collections; and d) the cultural differences when working with Native American objects. The presentation will also relay ongoing collaboration efforts between tribal members, toxicologists, conservators, IHs, and repatriation experts. These collaborations aim to develop training programs on testing methods and establish safe handling practices for future use. The Museum Poisons Test Kit project, a collaboration between a textile conservator and an IH, will also be presented. This project has garnered significant interest from tribal communities seeking autonomy in conducting testing procedures.

Upon completion, the participant will be able to:

• Address how NAGPRA relates to OEHS and Native American communities.
• Review the history of pesticide use in historic collections
• Identify the potential hazards in historic cultural objects.
• Discuss how these issues have impacted the Native American communities.
• Introduce the cultural differences not normally encountered during traditional IH practice.
• Evaluate surface sampling findings from case study.
• Summarize the outcomes of the 2023 conference meetings with a tribal representatives.
• Develop forward-thinking opportunities for IHs to interact with impacted communities. 

Intermediate

Polling

Q&A

Consulting

All Industries

Services

Also part of the Virtual Program

Available as part of AIHA CONNECT OnDemand

Chemical Hazards

Risk Assessment and Management