The Illinois State Museum is seeking to improve its relationships with Native tribes.
Heather Miller is the museum's first director of tribal relations. She previously served as executive director of the American Indian Center in Chicago. She's also a member of the Wyandotte Nation.
Miller said the museum is reviewing its collections for compliance with the federal Native American Graves and Repatriation Act.
"What that means is that for things that we have in collections, like the bodies of some of our ancestors, some of our relatives, some of those really special objects that they were buried with, we've got those in collections," she said. "Well, we need to make sure that we're doing right by those tribes that can claim them and have a say in how they need to be treated."
That may include returning requested items to tribes or reinterring remains in the ground. She also said it's important to update museum exhibits on Native peoples to give tribes a greater say.
"We want to make sure that their voices are being heard, that their knowledge is being respected, and that we're making sure that they're included in whatever part of the story that defines all of us as Illinois people, but especially those first folks who really, you know, have ownership and claim to this land," she said.
Miller said that's especially important since Illinois doesn't have any federally-recognized tribes with land in Illinois today. That's a legacy of the colonization and genocide experienced by Native peoples, Miller said.
"The way that we identify as indigenous people is that we have a relationship with this land. So for many of us, as Native people, our languages are defined by this land, meaning our place names can be seen in our languages. They define our locations, they define our relationship with plants and animals. It's just very different from English," she said.
She said allowing Native people to share their culture and knowledge about the land ultimately builds better understanding and respect among the people who live here now.
At sites like Dickson Mounds Museum in Lewistown, Miller said she'd also like to invite tribes to conduct ceremonies and events - and to help tell the stories of the mounds.
"I think it's a really interesting time to be able to do this work. And rather than seeing it as something that is scary or difficult to understand, I think it's just something new and unique and exciting, because we're gonna get such a richer version of our history," she said. "We're gonna get such a better story of how this land can be used and how we can interact with it."
