{"id":20043,"date":"2022-01-19T12:52:18","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T17:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=20043"},"modified":"2022-01-19T19:26:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T00:26:04","slug":"native-woman-takes-helm-at-national-museum-of-the-american-indian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/19\/native-woman-takes-helm-at-national-museum-of-the-american-indian\/","title":{"rendered":"Native woman takes helm at National Museum of the American Indian"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cynthia<\/a><\/div>
Cynthia Chavez Lamar. Photo by Walt Lamar<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>\r\n
Native woman takes helm at National Museum of the American Indian<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, January 19, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — A Native woman is making history as the new leader of the National Museum of the American Indian<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCynthia Chavez Lamar<\/a>, a citizen of the Pueblo of San Felipe<\/a>, was announced as director of the NMAI on Wednesday. She is the first Native woman to lead the museum and the first Native woman director within the entire Smithsonian Institution.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cDr. Chavez Lamar is at the forefront of a growing wave of Native American career museum professionals,\u201d Lonnie Bunch<\/a>, Secretary of the Smithsonian<\/a>, said in a news release<\/a>. \u201cThey have played an important role in changing how museums think about their obligations to Native communities and to all communities.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n \u201cWe look forward to Cynthia\u2019s leadership as the NMAI enters a new phase of service to the Native Peoples of the Western Hemisphere,\u201d said Bunch, who is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian.\r\n

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Accomplished curator, author, scholar and current acting associate director for collections and operations,\u200b Dr. Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo),\u200b will lead our @SmithsonianNMAI. We look forward to her leadership. https:\/\/t.co\/6LxQeFo5Gb<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\n Chavez Lamar has worked in a number of positions as the museum, starting off as an intern in 1995 and serving as associate curator from 2000 through 2005. Since January 2021, she has been acting associate director for collections and operation. Immediately prior to that, she was assistant director for collections between 2014 and 2020.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI am excited to begin my tenure as the director of the National Museum of the American Indian,\u201d said Chavez Lamar. \u201cI am looking forward to leading and working with the museum\u2019s experienced and dedicated staff.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cTogether, we will leverage the museum\u2019s reputation to support shared initiatives with partners in the U.S. and around the world to amplify Indigenous knowledge and perspectives all in the interest of further informing the American public and international audiences of the beauty, tenacity and richness of Indigenous cultures, arts and histories,\u201d she added.\r\n

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Congratulations to Cynthia Lamar Chavez, new director of National Museum of the American Indian! She is first Native woman to be named @smithsonian museum director. She hails from Pueblo of San Felipe. First official day @SmithsonianNMAI is February 14, 2022. #NativeWomenLead<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/P>\r\nChavez Lamar helped launch the NMAI<\/a> during its debut in September 2004<\/a>. She was the lead curator for the \u201cOur Lives\u201d exhibit at the facility on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Over 20,000 Native people, representing American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and other Native communities throughout the Americas, attended the opening celebration<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nChavez Lamar’s first official day on the job is February 14. She is the third director of NMAI, which was established by Congress<\/a> through the National Museum of the American Indian Act<\/a> of 1989.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nW. Richard West Jr., a citizen of the citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes<\/a>, was the founding director of the NMAI. He served from 1990 to 2007. \r\n

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