Funding clouds Indian museum's future

A decision by the federal government to eliminate funding for the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning by October 2007 has put the fate of the historic facility in jeopardy.

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board within the U.S. Department of the Interior intends to ax the $150,000 annual budget for the Browning museum, along with funding for American Indian museums in Anadarko, Okla., and Rapid City, S.D., to provide more money for law enforcement, said Scott Cameron, a deputy assistant secretary at Interior.

The federal agency wants to pour more resources into cracking down on the trafficking of counterfeit Indian artifacts, Cameron said. The agency is taking its directive from the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, which set civil penalties of up to $1 million for selling fake Indian artifacts, arts and crafts.

In turn, the federal government hopes community groups and the Blackfeet Tribe will come up with a plan to keep the Browning museum's doors open.

"There's lots of room for negotiation," Cameron said. "We're trying to engage the local communities and tribes for mutually agreeable solutions to give tribes ownership and management of these museums."

Cameron admitted, however, that it "may be tougher to find a solution" for the Browning museum than it will be for the other two facilities slated for the chopping block.

"Our opportunities for a solution are not as diverse [in Browning] as in the case of the other two," he said.

THE BROWNING museum was established by the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the end of the Great Depression as part of the bureau's education program. It was completed in 1941 and has since been a premier collection of varied arts of the Northern Plains tribes, including the Blackfeet, Crow, Northern Cheyenne, Sioux, Assiniboine, Arapaho, Shoshone, Nez Perce, Flathead, Chippewa and Cree.

Historic clothing, horse gear, weapons, household implements, baby carriers and toys highlight the exhibits, according to the museum's Web site, and there are frequent exhibits by contemporary American Indian artists.

The Browning facility also has an archive collection that includes a set of Frank Bird Linderman papers and artifacts. Linderman was a well-known early Montana pioneer whose many careers included writer, politician, assayer and Native American ally and ethnographer.

The BIA owns the museum building and curates archeological collections from Blackfeet Reservation sites, and the building sits on tribal land. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board has administered the museum since 1966.

"It has a long history with little visibility," said Ruthann Knudson of Great Falls, a historic preservation consultant who belongs to a grass-roots artist association organized to support the Browning museum. "Families brought in some very, very important artifacts. What happens to these articles that the federal government promised to take care of?"

Knudson said the association wants to have regional discussions with interested parties to develop a vision of what the museum's role should be.

Browning businesswoman Angelika Harden-Norman fears the artifacts could be moved to Washington, D.C., if the museum is forced to close.

"It's a big tourist draw for Browning," said Harden-Norman, who co-owns Lodgepole Gallery & Tipi Village with her husband, Darrell Norman. "We're very concerned about the anticipated negative economic impact for Glacier County."

She sees a lot of potential for the museum if better connections could be made between it and Montana's universities.

Cameron sees the potential for a partnership between the Browning museum and Glacier National Park. National parks typically handle marketing and education programs very well, he said.

THE MUSEUM has gained some visibility over the years with the staging of the annual North American Indians Days by the Blackfeet Tribal Council. The event is held adjacent to the museum and is one of the largest gatherings of American and Canadian tribes of the Northwest.

"The Indian Arts and Crafts Board hasn't had the money to market these museums," Cameron maintained. "We need to do some creative thinking to see if a package could be put together."

Assistance also could come from the National Museum of the American Indian or the Blackfeet Tribe itself, which has a tribal corporation that could explore options, he said.

A call to the Blackfeet tribal office was not returned, but Cameron said he has exchanged letters with the tribe to begin discussions about the pending funding cut.

"It's certainly our intention and our goal not to have artifacts end up in Washington, D.C.," Cameron said. "Our goal is to keep the museum and collections [in Browning] and figure out a way to give the tribe greater ownership and control."

The artist association is working with Montana's congressional delegation and organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians and the Plains Anthropological Society to explore funding options.

Knudson lauded acting curator David Dragonfly's service to the museum.

"He's doing an excellent job with no resources," she said.

Dragonfly was on vacation and unavailable for comment. The museum is open year-round and is a popular stop on school history and field trips.

Knudson also said the value of the Browning museum is priceless.

"I first visited there as a kid in 1956," she said. "It's a very important museum and collection."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com