First Alaskans Institute (FAI), a statewide Alaska Native nonprofit, is working with Museums Alaska to host a cohort of museum professionals committed to reimagining and fostering meaningful relationships with Alaska’s Tribes and Indigenous peoples. FAI will host a series of interactive dialogues customized for museum professionals through methods that are grounded in Indigenous values and ways of knowing, incorporating social technologies to host provocative dialogues that advance the needs of Indigenous peoples and partners statewide. Participants will learn how to have respectful and meaningful conversations about racism, equity, stewardship, and other challenging topics that continually arise in the field.

The Program’s goal is to transform institutions that are uniquely positioned to protect culturally significant artifacts and share about the lives of Alaska Native people, past and present. Discussion topics will include repatriation, Tribal sovereignty, and access to ancestral knowledge and objects. We invite you to engage in this unique opportunity as we challenge assumptions and the ways they impact the museum institutions, our patrons and Indigenous peoples.

There are two ways to participate: engaging fully as a cohort participant, or as a webinar-only attendee. To learn more, visit: Strengthening Museum Relationships with Indigenous Communities