Andrew W. Mellon Connecting Communities to Collections Program

In 2022, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded the Field Museum $1M in funding to connect indigenous communities in the US with their collections here in Chicago (#MellonConnections). The program set out to build on and expand previous collaborative work at the museum during the creation of the new permanent Native American exhibits Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories.

There are three elements to the #MellonConnections program:

• Early Career Fellowships
• Loans to local tribal institutions.
• Collaborative visits and knowledge exchanges

The museum field needs to develop the careers of those who are already culturally competent to work easily with Native North American collections stewarded by museums. The Native Truths project gave us the opportunity to specifically seek out such people, hire them, and retain them at the Field Museum. We now need to expand this resource for care of collections going forward.

Early Career Fellowships

These fellowships were intended for aspiring museum professionals of Native American heritage who are recent graduates, especially those who had attended Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI). 

Over the past three years, Mellon funding has supported six Early Career Fellows. Since making the move to Chicago can be daunting, this funding also covered moving expenses for each Fellow. At the museum, Fellows then received paid hands-on training in collections management, conservation, and registration, with the option to focus on one of these specialities as they familiarize themselves with museum work. To aid in early career development, funding is also provided for all Fellows to attend the annual meeting of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, & Museums (ATALM). 

During their time at the museum, each Fellow has focused on learning to improve the care and documentation of a particular area of the North American collection with which they have affiliation. They also work to facilitate community access to collections, fostering vital connections between communities and their belongings. As of 2024, all Fellowships have already been awarded, and we’d like to thank our Mellon Fellows for their phenomenal work!

Collaborative Loans

The Mellon Foundation also provided support for the loan of cultural items from the Field Museum to tribal museums and cultural centers. While this program originally focused on loaning items to institutions in the Midwest, we’re now considering any loan proposals from tribal museums within the continental United States. Funding is available for consultation on item selection, item transport, and humidity-controlled display cases (you keep the case after the item is returned from loan).

Collaborative Care

Learning is a two-way street in which museum staff and descendant communities work together
to interpret and care for collection items. Communities can teach museum collections staff about specific items, specific item types, and specific cultural approaches to collections care. Museum staff can share their knowledge with communities about collections documentation, care, and conservation treatment. A major aim of the Museum’s future collaborative program is to ensure the continued two-way exchange of information between Indigenous communities and the Museum, both inside and outside the Museum. We hope to do this in three main ways.