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The Native American Museum Studies Institute (NAMSI) brings staff and volunteers of tribal museums and cultural centers to UC Berkeley to learn together.
Q: What did you find to be the most valuable aspects of the institute?
A: "Networking with peers; making long-term connections. Agenda items presented by Native people. Good exposure to and problem-solving of museum issues." Past NAMSI participant
A generous donor has offered to match all gifts received the first day only - up to $500 total!
Joseph A. Myers (pictured upper left with the participants in the first workshop in 2012) started NAMSI to help tribes build additional skills to take care of their own cultural heritage items.
NAMSI increases the capacity of tribal community members to repatriate, conserve, and revitalize tribal cultural heritage, foster tribal representations and partnerships, and educate tribal and non-tribal communities through museum development exhibits.
"I found this experience so enriching! Working with such great resources was amazing; I think NAGPRA training was so important. Learning about other collections and skills (CSpace, TK labels, and Mukurtu) was all new information. I look forward to implementing that knowledge."
- Past NAMSI participant
With your support, we can ensure that people from underresourced tribes can participate in the training! (The workshop is free, but not all tribes can cover the travel expenses for their staff).
During the four-day institute, Native American staff and volunteers of tribal museums, archives and cultural centers are provided with intensive, culturally-relevant training in museum skills. This training means that tribes don't have to rely on outside consultants.
Participants in NAMSI 2019 enjoying lunch together at the former site of Café Ohlone
Your gifts will make this workshop possible!
Participants in NAMSI 2018 on a field trip.
NAMSI is a collaboration between:
We recognize that UC Berkeley has benefitted and continues to benefit from the use, occupation, and sale of Native land, since the institution’s founding in 1868. The Hearst Museum recognizes that as long as ancestors and sacred cultural items remain in the university's control, healing and reparation will be incomplete. NAMSI is one step on our journey to reckoning with and repairing the harm that UC Berkeley has done to Native people.
For more information contact the Myers Center: crnai@berkeley.edu | 510.642.0813
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We are grateful for your support!
Your donation at any level is essential! $25 will cover lunch for one participant. Bonding over meals is an essential part of NAMSI since many staff of tribal museums and cultural centers are the sole staff member! They appreciate the chance to be in person and in community with others doing similar work.
We'll acknowledge you on our website as a donor (also includes social media shout out).
You'll be invited to meet the participants at a special event in summer 2023, Date/time to be announced. (Also includes $50 and $100 recognition)
You will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour along with other donors at this level (Date/time to be announced). Also includes $50, $100, $175 level recognition).
You will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center along with other donors at this level (Date/time to be announced). Also includes $50, $100, $175 level recognition).
You will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of ‘oṭṭoy: A Collaboration Between Café Ohlone and the Hearst Museum at UC Berkeley, along with other donors at this level (Date/time to be announced). Also includes $50, $100, $175 level recognition).
