Guarding Oklahoma Native American Heritage
FAIN: PG-266577-19
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee (Tahlequah, OK 74464-3492)
Ernestine Berry (Project Director: January 2019 to present)
The work of two preservation specialists to
update the museum’s disaster plan and offer workshops to museum staff, first
responders, and staff of nearby tribal institutions. The workshops would
include hands-on training for risk assessment, disaster preparedness and
response, and working with first responders, and would result in the
establishment of a communication network and collaborations with partner
cultural heritage institutions. Collections at the John Hair Cultural Center
and Museum include baskets, ceremonial items, photographs, tribal rolls,
treaties, and correspondence used for research, exhibits, and programs that
benefit the tribe, local schools, and visiting scholars.
The John Hair Cultural Center & Museum (JHCCM) of the United Keetoowah Band (UKB) is applying for support for Guarding Oklahoma Native American Heritage: a preparedness plan update for JHCCM, and two workshops for staff of area Native-led museums: one on preparedness planning and response, and one on the impacts of climate on preparedness in Oklahoma with emphasis on increased vulnerability of Native peoples. The workshops close with a facilitated discussion for co-creating plans for collaborative approaches to risk mitigation, disaster preparedness, and disaster and climate resilience. The project updates earlier work and will include special concerns for special heritage items recently returned to the United Keetoowah Band. Five additional native groups will participate in the two days of workshops.