Abbe Museum

The Abbe Museum will invest in professional development and training for its staff, board, and volunteers to support its work with the Wabanaki Nations towards a decolonized approach to every aspect of its operations. An emerging concept in museum practice, decolonization is an ongoing process of sharing authority for the documentation and interpretation of Native culture. As a decolonizing museum of Wabanaki history, the Abbe Museum develops policies and protocols guiding decolonizing practice. Museum staff members and trustees will engage in learning sessions around anti-racism and the effect of acculturation, and will engage in cultural competency assessments. A museum inclusion expert will work with staff to assess inclusion from a systems perspective-people, policy, assumptions, values, and norms-and determine if they align with the museum's adopted guiding principle of decolonization. The project will provide essential resources for staff in the learning and development of workplace inclusion practices to support the broader work of decolonization.