Museums Today: NAGPRA Compliance, Meaningful Collaboration, and Transparency in Exhibitions
Despite the 1990 passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and 2023 revisions explicitly prohibiting the display of NAGPRA-protected objects, many museums persist in exhibiting them. Communicating NAGPRA's importance to the public remains a complex challenge for numerous institutions.
Cat Shteynberg, assistant director and curator of exhibitions at the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, will present their 2023 exhibition, "The Repatriation of Archaeology and Native Peoples of Tennessee." Here, over 300 unprovenanced and/or NAGPRA-protected items were removed from a longstanding permanent gallery. Employing Stephen Lubar’s notion of “exhibiting emptiness,” the museum transformed the space into dialogue on repatriation in collaboration with Native partners and the University of Tennessee’s Office of Repatriation.
While addressing problematic displays transparently poses challenges, it also cultivates collaboration and trust with Native Nation partners. Shteynberg's insights from the exhibition will fuel discussions on the ethical responsibilities of museum professionals grappling with problematic collecting and exhibition practices.
About Catherine Shteynberg
Catherine (Cat) Shteynberg is assistant director and curator of exhibitions at the McClung Museum, University of Tennessee (UT). She holds a M.Sc. in material anthropology and museum ethnography from University of Oxford, and has 18 years of experience in curatorial, administrative and educational roles in institutions including the Hood Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. Her work focuses on museums and community building, repatriation, and the social lives of objects. Shteynberg has curated over 20 exhibitions and is currently co-curating Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art (2025) with Native Nation co-curators and partners from UT.
How to Participate
To participate, register online, and we will email you a link and instructions for joining the program on Zoom. Simply follow that link at the time the event starts (6 p.m. EDT). When you register, you can also request to receive a reminder email one day before the program with the link included.
About the Museums Today Series
Each month during the academic year, museum leaders lead lively online discussions about critical issues in the field. This series is presented in partnership with the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries. Browse upcoming programs