Because
I find value in visiting museums (but don’t get to them as much as I would
like), I chose the online resource of the Museum of the Southeast American
Indian. This museum was formerly named
the Native American Resource Center under the direction of the University of
North Carolina Pembroke. The introductory page on the website explains that the
museum can be described as a ”multi-faceted museum and resource for scholarly
research and community outreach”. Their
mission is similar in nature to other organizations that work to ensure that artifacts are preserved and opportunities are provided for scholarly research and community involvement. This particular resource is very effective
because it provides links to materials that are visually pleasing such as the
various art pieces which include masks, paintings and wood carving pieces.
By
far the most interesting thing I learned was regarding Indian involvement in
dismantling a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan in Maxton, NC in 1958. Despite the mayor’s attempts at preventing
this gathering which was specifically aimed at the Indians, the members of the
Ku Klux Klan gathered. With support from
members of the community, including the black community, they successfully
ended the meeting without any record of injuries. Curt Locklear, one of the members who
attended said, “It was something that you would hope would never happen
again. It was nonsense, but uh, it was
scary.”
The
final thing that I most enjoyed about this link is that there are several
documentaries available for viewing as well as a news and announcements section
which unfortunately didn’t have much listed since July of 2015 except they do list a conference that was held in April of 2016. After viewing this site, I became curious as
to where there would be an Indian museum near me and I found one that’s
approximately two hours away and it is the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes
Cave, NY. Howes Cave is also known for
its famous underground caverns called Howe Caverns. Here is a link to both:
Now,
who says New York State is boring?
Blacks and Indians fighting with the KKK
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| "The Singer", one of the masks located in the Museum. I've never been a fan of masks but this one is interesting. |
I never knew the Indians got involved in stopping the KKK. It never occurred to me that they would put themselves in that position, but now I feel they must have after spending years being betrayed and prosecuted for being Indians, they knew what it was like and still continued to fight for equality.
ReplyDeleteI never knew the Indians got involved in stopping the KKK. It never occurred to me that they would put themselves in that position, but now I feel they must have after spending years being betrayed and prosecuted for being Indians, they knew what it was like and still continued to fight for equality.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insightful mention of the involvement of the stopping of the KKK meeting. That is stunning that several cultures combined to stop a tragedy from possibly occurring. I totally understand, I usually never go to museums except a couple times in my life. How ever when I do go I am astonished by all the facts and relics you can see. Great blog, and I look forward to reading what you have to say next.
ReplyDelete