Vashon Heritage Museum: A Newly Imagined, Richly Diverse Permanent Exhibit

FAIN: GI-287558-22

Vashon Maury Island Heritage Association (Vashon, WA 98070-4645)
Elsa Croonquist (Project Director: January 2022 to present)

Vashon Maury Island Heritage Museum respectfully requests an Implementation Grant of $325,000 from the NEH to complete the creation and installation of a newly imagined, comprehensive Permanent Exhibit that welcomes our community and accurately reflects the diverse, multi-faceted history of our Island and its many peoples. The history and heritage of Vashon-Maury Island, a rural spot located just a short ferry ride from Seattle or Tacoma, is reflective of much of the Pacific Northwest: home to Coast Salish culture that thrived in the Salish Sea for millennia, including the sx???babš of Vashon - then settled by the Euro-Asian-Americans who swept into the Puget Sound in the mid-1800s. As originally conceived over 20 years ago, our Permanent Exhibit was for the most part reflective of a Eurocentric settler’s heritage. A vast amount of information and crucial context was absent. The Museum will bring these hidden stories to light in the new Permanent Exhibit.