Museum Care of Indigenous Cradles: Insights From Consultation With Tribal Communities

Traditional cradles are important objects in many Indigenous American cultures. A historical tendency of museums to overlook Indigenous perspectives on proper object handling and display has often resulted in improper care of culturally sensitive objects in museum collections. Through interviews at the Natural History Museum of Utah, we consulted members of Indigenous communities in and around Utah to ascertain culturally appropriate practices for housing, handling, displaying, researching, and imaging Indigenous cradle objects. Cradle forms and beliefs vary across cultures, and cradles can be significant on individual, familial, artistic, practical, and spiritual levels. Consultants provided feedback on physical and spiritual considerations that museums should incorporate into their care practices. Results provide insights regarding proper museum care of cradles specific to the cultures with which the consultants identify. Additionally, they provide broader insights regarding considerations all museums should prioritize when seeking Indigenous input on the care of cradle objects of any cultural association.