Milwaukee Public Museum

Minerva Soucie, Burns Paiute Tribe, examining MPM Anthropology collections during a 2001 consultation visit.

Archival material includes original field and collection notes by curatorial staff, particularly Samuel Barrett, W.C. McKern, Lee Parsons, Stephen Borheygi, and Robert Ritzenthaler. Photographic collections relating to Wisconsin Indians are indexed in Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Anthropology and History No. 5, and to non-Wisconsin native peoples in Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Anthropology and History No. 6. Both collections comprise the Milwaukee Public Museum American Indian Photograph Collection, with duplicate prints maintained by the Anthropology Section, although a smaller collection of prints of Native Americans, representing photographs not made by the Milwaukee Public Museum, are separately maintained within the section.

Ancillary materials also include a duplicate copy of the Wisconsin state archaeological site files, complete through the late 1980s, approximately 5000 catalogued slides, approximately 42 linear feet of American Indian Resource files, 5 linear feet of phonograph records, some 300 anthropological films, videos, and audio tapes. In addition, the section maintains case files listing all objects on exhibit, with photographs and schematic drawings showing the location, catalog and accession numbers of all items from Anthropology holdings on public display. The section also created and sponsors the Wisconsin Indian Resource Project, a grant-supported, web-based compendium of materials on native populations, history and culture (url: http://www.mpm.edu/wirp/). Accession-related correspondence and supporting documentation is housed within the Section, as are full catalogs and collector files. Duplicate catalogues are also housed in the basement storage areas. In addition to microfiched catalog records maintained by the MPM Registrar, the Anthropology Section maintains a second, off-site copy of microfiche catalogue and accession records. NAGPRA documentation, inventories, consultation records, etc., are housed in the Anthropology section in fireproof cabinets.

Acquisitions are prioritized based on the Department of Anthropology Collecting Plan. Access to MPM Anthropology collections is by prior arrangement. Complete details are available in a separate Guidelines for Access to the Anthropological Collections of the Milwaukee Public Museum. Compliance with NAGPRA and related regulations is governed by the MPM Guidelines for Consultation and Repatriation, revised 2001, which has since been selected by the Technical Information Service of the American Association of Museums as a model for the development of similar policies by other member institutions.