Resources

Archives

Collections

Education

Funding

Human Resources

Museum 101

 

Organizations listed below provide grants and funding opportunities that may be of interest to Kansas museums.  Subcategories list upcoming grant names and application due dates; for more information or to see grant opportunities for other times of the year, click on the link in each organization's name.  Upcoming grants will be updated at the end of each month.

Statewide


Regional


National

Overview

Updates at the end of 2023 to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), specifically the Duty of Care requirement, have many U.S. museums scrambling to either comply and/or remove Native American objects from exhibit. NAGPRA Guidelines can be confusing, so provided are some resources that will assist museums with the process.  One point of clarification to keep in mind: Any museum that has received federal funding since the law first passed in 1990 is subject to NAGPRA, including museums that received any COVID relief funds.

 

Written Resources: 

Videos and Webinars:

  • NAGPRA Website - Watch Recording* 

    Updates to the NPS website about NAGPRA, including new templates and guidance, published on Friday, January 12, 2024. Join Melanie O'Brien for a tour of the changes and new documents. *Session was re-recorded on January 18, 2024, due to technical issues. 
     

  • National NAGPRA Program Webinars

    The National NAGPRA Program will host a series of 10 webinars on the new regulations on the third Friday of every month from 1pm to 2:30pm Eastern time. Registration is required, but the meeting information is always the same. Register once and attend any session. Mark your calendars and bring your questions. 

    January 19, 2024 – Overview of Revised Regulations, Watch Recording
    February 16, 2024 – Deep dive into Subpart C
    March 15, 2024 – Consultation under NAGPRA
    April 19, 2024 – Notices under NAGPRA

Register for NAGPRA Program Webinars

  • National NAGPRA Program On-Demand Videos  

    The National NAGPRA Program offers free on-demand training on a variety of topics for beginner to advanced NAGPRA practitioners. Since 2010, the National NAGPRA Program has produced videos, training sessions, and webinars. Recordings are available on the National NAGPRA Program YouTube Channel.

    Note: Many of these trainings were developed under the previous regulatory framework and some references may be outdated. The content and information is still relevant and useful for understanding NAGPRA.

 

Contact Tribal Leaders:

What Kansas Museums Can Do to Support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, Social Justice and Racial Equity

This is a list of resources for museums and their board, staff, and volunteers to use to begin actively supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), social justice, and racial equity.  Some museums across Kansas may have been addressing these issues and adopting these practices already; for others it might feel overwhelming and leave you wondering where to start.  The important thing to do IS to start somewhere.  Take steps to read, learn, and share.  There is a lot to learn, and a lot to do.  We will likely make mistakes, but we will keep moving forward.  Expect it to be uncomfortable, and remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint.  We will do what we do best – preserving, protecting, and sharing stories about the art, history, and science that make us human with all of the messy, nuanced detail that comes with it.

To share a resource here, contact Jamin Landavazo.

 

Read KMA's Statement on Social Justice and Racial Equity

 

Read

Guides and Action Frameworks:

Discussions and Thought Pieces:

Monuments:

Listen

  • To your board, staff and volunteers of color. For Museum Leaders Who Want to Do Better – Andrew Plumley, American Alliance of Museums
  • To BIPOC in your community. What are their needs?  Their questions?  What can your museum do to better serve them and welcome them?
  • Podcasts: 

Collect

  • Black Lives Matter materials and other materials that reflect what is happening in the world now: Museums Collect Protest Signs to Preserve History in Real Time – Graham Bowley, The New  York Times
  • Artifacts from BIPOC in your community. Do you have an active collecting plan?  How can you publicize the types of things you would like to collect?
  • Consider an oral history project centered around an event in your community’s past or a BIPOC community to show different perspectives.

Share

  • Amplify voices, stories, and collections that are non-white. Share them on social media, feature them on your website, build programming around them to talk about the past and present.
  • Talk about controversial collections/stories. Do you have artifacts that are stereotypical or racist in your collection? Why are they there?  What can we learn from them?
  • What stories can your museum tell from multiple viewpoints? Are there events in your community’s history that can be told from the point of view of BIPOC through artifacts, articles, or oral traditions?

Access

  • Use this time to focus on digitizing non-white collections of photos, letters, etc.
  • Ask for help from your community – not just BIPOC – to transcribe, provide context, etc. – and then use those resources in virtual or in person programming.
  • Offer resources that help with genealogy for BIPOC. Black Americans in particular face challenges finding records of ancestors who may have been enslaved.

Engage

  • Engage your board/diversify your board: build connections with business and community leaders, historians of the Black, Latinx, and Indigenous experiences and others in your area. Seek out and invite BIPOC to serve on committees and the full board, and listen to the ideas they bring.
  • Host speakers/conversations: whether in person or virtual, museums can be a place for the community to come together during hard times of learning, questioning, and moving forward. You can set the tone for thoughtful dialog in your area.
  • Be a conduit for history/art/science learning for adults and children, a place where they can question preconceptions and hear different viewpoints from BIPOC and scholars. If applicable, partner with local organizations like the local chapter of the NAACP, BLM, and BIPOC cultural and social organizations to elevate and expand their platforms and reach.
  • Are there discussions about renaming streets, monuments, buildings or other areas in your community? Become a resource for the committee to provide historical context and work with BIPOC community members to suggest alternatives.

Collaborate

Other Resources

From AASLH:

Our historical moment: Ten experts on the history of race in America spoke to TIME about how the past can help us understand the events of the present. “Comparisons to the 1960s, and that era’s fight for racial equality, have been plentiful—but that period was just one chapter in a civil rights movement that’s almost as old as America is.” 

Resources for understanding racism: Smithsonian magazine compiled a list of 158 resources for understanding systemic racism in America. The articles, videos, podcasts, and websites are divided into six sections: historical context, systemic inequality, anti-Black violence, protest, intersectionality, and allyship and education.

From the Coalition of State Museum Associations:

We are grateful to the leadership of our colleagues at Museum & Race, Society of American Archivists, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture for compiling resources to help us uncover, grapple with, and begin the discussion about the race-related collections we hold in our institutions; please take a look at them:

The KMA Listserv is a private email group that allows current Kansas Museums Association members to connect and share their invaluable experience. Use the listserv to get product and service recommendations, promote programs or ask for wisdom in dealing with different situations, offer artifact donations or exhibit cases for sale, and so much more!

Current KMA Membership is required to unlock listserv access.  

Learn more about membership and join or renew

KMA Listserv FAQ