First Americans Museum, Oklahoma
As Project Director / Lead Designer at Ralph Appelbaum Associates I collaborated with the First Americans Museum on exhibit concepts and design development for their new museum and led the creation of architectural coordination packages to establish the infrastructure needed for exhibits prior to the completion of the building. The building completion was then put on hold due to funding. I collaborated with American Indian Cultural Center and the Advisory team to develop exhibit concepts and design options for OKLA HOMMA, which tells the collective story of the 39 Tribal Nations who were removed from their ancestral homeland to what is now Oklahoma. We met with curators from NMAI in Suitland, Maryland to establish an MOU and consider objects for display. Studying the relationship between objects and their individual stories and alternative types of exhibits allowed us to define a priority request list to start the process of conservation assessments. This prioritized loan request list would then be the basis of the final loan agreement. Many of these objects will be reunited with the descendent family of their original makers.
“First Americans Museums’ mission is to serve as a dynamic center promoting awareness and educating the broader public about the unique cultures, diversity, history, contributions, and resilience of the First American Nations in Oklahoma today.”
The museum building aligns with the cardinal directions, as First Americans have done in their building planning for thousands of years. The circular motif of the FAM logo was explored by AICCM and the RAA team during early planning as a metaphor for the orientations from which the 39 federally recognized Tribal Nations arrived in Oklahoma. The iconic earthen mound that extends the circular gesture of the building on the site pays tribute to the great mound-builder civilizations dating back to around 500 A.D. The walk to the top of the mound represents life’s journey and our relationship to the cosmos and is symbolic of the arduous path and tragedies experienced by Native peoples during removal to Indian Territory. The mound cradles the outdoor festival grounds featuring activities including powwows, stick-ball games, concerts, and cultural festivals.
First Americans Museum (FAM) opened to the public Sept 2021.
renderings: George Robertson (Ralph Appelbaum Associates); Architectural site photo: Johnson Fain; Hornbeek, Blatt Architects.