BEYOND the display case

Posted on 09.21.26 by Kathy Foss in College of Arts & Science

Silver necklaces adorned with turquoise and coral. Red, cream and brown vases carved with intricate geometric designs. Woven baskets, rugs and more. As part of the ��Ѩ��Ƶ Anthropology Museum’s current exhibition “Pueblo Traditions,” these items tell a story of the impact of tourism on Indigenous artists beginning in the late 1930s.

Now, with some nearly 100 years old, they are part of a new story — one in which ��Ѩ��Ƶ students are learning to uncover their histories, catalog and photograph them, assess their condition and determine how best to care for them as stewards of cultural heritage.

The work is part of a larger effort to preserve the museum’s collection — and a grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust has made it all possible.

This project is supported by the Oregon Cultural Trust. Oregon Cultural Trust logo.

Explore the work

For students working in the ��Ѩ��Ƶ Anthropology Museum, caring for an artifact means more than placing it on a shelf. It means learning how to handle an object that may have survived for generations. It means documenting its condition, photographing it, recording where it is stored and determining how best to protect it for the future. That hands-on work is at the heart of a $20,656 grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust that is helping the museum strengthen the care of its collection while giving ��Ѩ��Ƶ students practical experience in museum stewardship.

The grant supports new archival-quality storage materials and secure shelving for the ��Ѩ��Ƶ Anthropology Museum’s collection of more than 3,500 artifacts. It also supports the training and mentorship of undergraduate students who are helping rehouse some of the collection’s most fragile and vulnerable objects. “This project allows students to participate in the full cycle of care for museum collections,” said Leslie Walker, associate professor of anthropology and coordinator of the ��Ѩ��Ƶ Anthropology Museum. “They’re not just learning about collections care in a classroom. They’re actually doing the work.”

The museum’s collection includes artifacts acquired over many decades, including some objects that have been part of ��Ѩ��Ƶ’s holdings for more than a century. Some date to the first century. Preserving those objects requires more than keeping them in a climate-controlled room. Materials used to store artifacts can affect their long-term condition, while unsecured shelving can leave collections vulnerable to damage from an earthquake or severe weather. The Cultural Trust grant is helping address those concerns by replacing aging, open shelving with secure, archival-quality storage and providing specialized materials to rehouse approximately 1,300 artifacts.

But for ��Ѩ��Ƶ students, the project offers another kind of investment: experience. Students working with Walker learn established collections-care practices, including proper object handling, rehousing techniques, cursory condition assessment, object photography, cataloging and the use of the museum’s collections management software.

The work requires patience and precision. Students must learn to consider an object’s material, condition and shape as they determine how it should be supported and protected. They also learn why careful documentation matters — both for the object itself and for the people who may study it in the future. The experience reflects one of the defining characteristics of the ��Ѩ��Ƶ Anthropology Museum: students are not simply visitors to the collection. They are active participants in its care and interpretation.

The work taking place behind the scenes ultimately supports what visitors see in the museum’s exhibit space. Earlier this year, students developed “Pueblo Visions: Artistic Traditions of the American Southwest,” an exhibition exploring the relationship among Indigenous artistry, tourism and cultural identity. Students researched objects, documented collections, developed interpretations and prepared the exhibition for the public. That kind of work depends on access to a well-managed collection. “Particularly compelling is the way it reveals the continuity of artistic traditions across generations, demonstrating how families have sustained and reimagined their creative practices over time,” Walker said of “Pueblo Visions,” which is on display through Nov. 20, 2026.

The new storage system makes the collection more organized, secure and accessible for future research, teaching and exhibitions. It also moves the museum toward its goal of being a space of shared authority with the cultural and descendant communities connected to its collections. That responsibility requires more than preserving objects physically. It requires developing the knowledge and practices needed to care for them thoughtfully and to interpret them with context and respect.

The Oregon Cultural Trust grant represents an investment in both cultural heritage and the students who will help steward it. For students interested in museum studies, anthropology, history, conservation or related fields, working directly with collections provides experience that cannot be replicated entirely in a classroom. They learn professional practices while working with real objects and making decisions that affect their long-term preservation.

The benefits extend to the broader community, too. The ��Ѩ��Ƶ Anthropology Museum is located in Walker Hall on the university’s McMinnville campus and is visited by students, employees, alumni and community members. Its collection offers opportunities to encounter the material record of human cultures and consider the ways objects can illuminate history, creativity and cultural change.

The new shelving may not be the most visible part of that experience. Visitors may never see it. But behind every thoughtfully curated display is a collection that has been carefully preserved, documented and cared for — and students who have learned how to do that work. For ��Ѩ��Ƶ, that is the larger promise of the project: protecting the past while giving the next generation the knowledge and experience to care for it.

For students working in the ��Ѩ��Ƶ Anthropology Museum, caring for an artifact means more than placing it on a shelf. It means learning how to handle an object that may have survived for generations. It means documenting its condition, photographing it, recording where it is stored and determining how best to protect it for the future. That hands-on work is at the heart of a $20,656 grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust that is helping the museum strengthen the care of its collection while giving ��Ѩ��Ƶ students practical experience in museum stewardship.

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BEYOND the display case

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