Disconnection and reconnection: exploring southwestern heritage exhibit spaces, content and the visitor experience

Gallagher, Joanne Lynn (2023) Disconnection and reconnection: exploring southwestern heritage exhibit spaces, content and the visitor experience. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Indigenous voices in heritage exhibitions have historically been lacking in the disciplines of museology, anthropology, and archaeology. Scholars in these disciplines have asserted that collaborative exhibitions lead to more accurate representations of Indigenous Peoples in museums and stronger relationships between museum institutions and tribal stakeholders. In this research project, I use museums, archaeology, and visitor studies to examine the presence of Indigenous voices in heritage exhibitions and to investigate how successfully these areas draw visitors’ attention. This project explores the patterns of exhibition content, the presence of Indigenous voices, and the average length of time guests. interacted with exhibitions that focus on Indigenous heritage. I tracked and interviewed 120 participants in three southwestern heritage exhibitions at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. These institutions are leaders in creating collaborative exhibitions that feature the voices of southwestern Native and Tribal Nations and have adopted some Indigenous curatorial practices in their collection management activities. My research supports the conclusion that visitors enjoy the results of meaningful consultation practices for collaborative exhibition management.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Heritage Exhibition; Public Archaeology; Visitor Studies; Indian participation;
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Anthropology
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2026 20:20
Last Modified:	15 Jul 2026 20:20
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6292

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