Preservation Assessment

FAIN: PG-271671-20

Smoki Museum (Prescott, AZ 86301-3184)
Cynthia Gresser (Project Director: January 2020 to June 2024)

A preservation assessment and development of a disaster plan to ensure the preservation of a collection of historical and cultural objects associated with the Smoki People, a non-Native group from Arizona who appropriated Native American art and culture from the 1920s to the 1990s, especially through ceremony re-enactment. The collection is made up of objects representing Native American groups from the Southwest (textiles, ceramics, jewelry, baskets, kachinas, and artwork), approximately 10,000 documents, 15,000 photographic prints and negatives, and 800 cellulose nitrate reels of public performances from the 1930s. While the group is now defunct, the museum preserves objects, photographs, audiovisual recordings, and ephemera, which are used by scholars and the public to explore the controversial past of the Smoki People.

The Smoki Museum seeks $8194 to cover travels costs and fees to contract preservation specialist Randy Silverman to assess the museum's collections and collection housing.