NYC Museum Shuts Down Native American Exhibits After Federal Rule Changes

On Friday, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City emptied two of its exhibition halls and covered up multiple displays, following new federal regulations that require institutions to first obtain consent from native tribes before displaying their cultural artifacts. The museum, which draws nearly 5 million visitors each year, said in a notice to staff members that it will close displays dedicated to the Eastern Woodlands and the Great Plains tribes for the upcoming weekend. “While the actions we are taking this week may seem sudden, they reflect a growing urgency among all museums to change their relationships to, and representation of, indigenous cultures,” Sean Decatur, the museum’s president, wrote in the notice. “The halls we are closing are vestiges of an era when museums such as ours did not respect the values, perspectives, and indeed shared humanity of indigenous peoples.”...