Northwest Coast Hall

Dates

• Existence: November 30, 1896 - present

Summary

Abstract:

Permanent exhibition at the American Museum Natural History. Opened November 30, 1896 as the Ethnological Hall under the supervision of Franz Boas. Located on Floor 1, Section 1. The Northwest Coast Hall highlights the traditional cultures of Native American and First Nation cultures from the Pacific Northwest Coast. It reopened on May 13, 2022, after a years-long revitalization. The exhibition was co-curated by Peter Whiteley, curator of North American Ethnology at the Museum, and Co-Curator Ḥaa’yuups, Nuu-chah-nulth scholar and cultural historian, working in collaboration with a group of Consulting Curators from the Coast Salish, Gitxsan, Haida, Haíłzaqv, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nuxalk, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities.

Historical Note

When the Northwest Coast Hall first opened at the turn of the century, it temporarily housed ethnological collections from Melanesian, northern Mexican and Inuit peoples. The original concept of the hall focused on Northwest Coast peoples which it has since those early beginnings. Originally curated by Franz Boas, Pliny Goddard, Stanley A. Freed, and Bella Weitzner, many of the same artifacts are currently on display. Expeditions that contributed to the hall included the Boas Expedition to the Northwest Territories (1894-1895), the Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902), financed by Museum President Morris K. Jesup, and the Goddard Expedition to British Columbia and Alaska (1922). Expedition members included George Emmons, Livingston Farrand, Pliny Goddard, George Hunt, D.C.F. Newcombe, Harlan I. Smith, John R. Swanton, Will S. Taylor, and James Teit (1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6, 1896, p. 19-20; 6, 1922 p. 10; 6, 1960/61, p. 25; 1, 1911, p. 23; 7). Cultures represented in the hall include Haida, Tlingit, Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw), Tsimshian (Tsimshianic), Bella Coola (Nuxalk), Coast Salish, Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth), Shuswap, and Thompson (Nlaka'pamux).

The iconic Great Canoe was first exhibited in the Northwest Coast Hall. Mannequins representing Chilkat Indians were installed in approximately 1910 (2; 9, 1911, p. 16-18), with work contributed by artist Albert Operti (6, 1912, p. 71). The Canoe was transferred from the Northwest Coast Hall to the Grand Gallery in 1960 (6, 1960/61, p. 25), where it was suspended from the ceiling before it was removed for the revitalization project that was announced in 2017.

Around that same time, an interactive installation, Digital Totem, brought contemporary Northwest Coast voices through a touch-screen portal to the peoples, places, and sounds of the Pacific Northwest. Museum visitors were introduced to indigenous Northwest Coast peoples through photos and interviews, audio of local languages and Northwest Coast soundscapes of animals, nature, and local instruments. To create the Digital Totem, the Museum worked closely with Northwest Coast peoples and interviewed members of Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw, Haida, Nuu-chah-nulth, Musqueam, Gitxsan, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities (8).

The revitalized Northwest Coast Hall opened on May 13, 2022. The updated concept was developed by Kulapat Yantrasast of WHY Architects working closely with the Museum’s Exhibition Department, led by Lauri Halderman, vice president for exhibition. While retaining the organization of the historic space, the design showcases the vitality and persistence of Pacific Northwest Coast Nations by enlivening the presentation of cultural treasures with new interpretation, storytelling, and dynamic media developed with Native scholars, artists, historians, filmmakers, and language experts.

Museum President, Ellen V. Futter, who presided over the revitalization among other projects said, “The new Hall was shaped and profoundly inspired through deep collaboration between the Museum’s Curatorial and Exhibition team and our Co-Curator and a group of Consulting Curators from Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest Coast, resulting in a presentation that illuminates the Northwest Coast cultures as vibrant, living communities, while showcasing more than 1,000 glorious works of art, spirituality, and ingenuity. The Hall also includes a rotating gallery presenting the work of current artists, highlighting the bridges between tradition and modern expression." (AMNH Press Release, May 2022)

REFERENCES

(1) American Museum of Natural History, "Hall of Northwest Coast Indians," accessed May 5, 2017, http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/human-origins-and-cultural-halls/hall-of-northwest-coast-indians.

(2) American Museum of Natural History Research Library Digital Special Collections, accessed May 5, 2017, http://images.library.amnh.org/digital

(3) American Museum of Natural History Research Library. Boas Expedition to the Northwest Territories (1894-1895), accessed May 5, 2017, http://data.library.amnh.org:8082/orbeon/xeac/id/amnhc_2000023

(4) American Museum of Natural History Research Library. Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902), accessed May 5, 2017, http://data.library.amnh.org:8082/orbeon/xeac/id/amnhc_2000038

(5) American Museum of Natural History Research Library. Goddard Expedition to British Columbia and Alaska (1922), accessed May 5, 2017, http://data.library.amnh.org:8082/orbeon/xeac/id/amnhc_2000728

(6) American Museum of Natural History. Annual Reports. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1896-1964/65.

(7) American Museum of Natural History Research Library. "Jesup North Pacific Expedition, accessed May 5, 2017, http://library.amnh.org/finding_aids_Jesup/.

(8) American Museum of Natural History, "Digital Totem," accessed May 5, 2017, http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/human-origins-and-cultural-halls/hall-of-northwest-coast-indians/digital-totem

(9) American Museum of Natural History. General Guide to the Exhibition Halls of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1904-1931.

(10) American Museum of Natural History. The American Museum of Natural History: A Pictorial Guide. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1967.

(11) Hall of Northwest Coast Indians. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. May 5, 2017.

(12) American Museum of Natural History. Official Guide: Images from around the American Museum of Natural History New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1993.

(13) American Museum of Natural History. Northwest Coast Hall. American Museum of Natural History website (accessed February 5, 2021).

Information for the hall appears in the following Museum publications:

American Museum of Natural History Annual Reports for years 1895 (page 17-18); 1896 (page 19-20); 1898 (page 16-17); 1900 (page 18); 1904 (page 20); 1908 (page 36); 1909 (page 38); 1910 (page 48+); 1911 (page 22, 23, 60); 1912 (page 66, 71); 1913 (page 28); 1914 (page 31, 74); 1915 (page 28, 81); 1916 (page 86, 87); 1917 (page 46, 91); 1918 (page 43, 87); 1920 (page 26, 103); 1921 (page 104); 1922 (page 10, 101); 1923 (page 127); 1924 (page 110); 1926 (page 34, 84); 1927 (page 142); 1930 (page 38); 1937 (page 50, 70); 1956 (page 15); 1959 (page 4); 1960 (page 25, 68); 1961 (page 54); 1963 (page 71); 1964 (page 75); 1984 (page 59); 1989 (page 63); 2009 (page 29); 2010 (page 50)

American Museum of Natural History General Guides for years 1904 (Table of Contents, page 40); 1911 (page 13, 15, 16); 1913 (page 20); 1914 (Table of Contents, page 21); 1916 (page 23); 1918 (page 13); 1919 (page 13); 1920 (page 13); 1921 (page 13); 1922 (page 13); 1923 (page 13); 1927 (page 5, 37); 1928 (page 18); 1929 (page 18); 1930 (page 18); 1931 (page 34); 1932 (page 34); 1933 (page 36); 1934 (page 37); 1935 (page 37); 1936 (page 37); 1939 (page 16, 131); 1943 (page 16, 138); 1945 (page 16, 138); 1947 (page 16, 138); 1949 (page 16, 138); 1953 (Floor plans, page 172); 1956 (page 178); 1958 (page 180); 1962 (page 12, 42); 1964 (page 12, 17, 42)

American Museum of Natural History: Pictorial Guide, 1967

American Museum of Natural History: An Introduction (page 7, 8), 1972

American Museum of Natural History Official Guides for years 1984 (page 41); 1993 (page 35); 1993 (page 50); 2001 (Table of Contents, page 30 60)

Topics

• AMNH Permanent Exhibitions