NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University faculty members Dr. Susan Dollar and Dr. Vicki Parrish will attend a preview event for the grand opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. on Saturday, Sept. 17.  The dedication will mark the nation’s first national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history and culture.

They will be joined by Dustin Fuqua, chief of resource management for the Cane River Creole National Historical Park.

Parrish, a professor of theatre arts and history, is president of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches (APHN), which has loaned two items recovered from the Bayou Folk Museum/Kate Chopin House to be displayed in the newly constructed museum. Dollar, an associate professor of history, is an APHN board member, and chairman of the Melrose Plantation Interpretation Committee.

The APHN has loaned to the museum a plantation bell originally recovered from the Bertrand Plantation in Cloutierville, and an ankle shackle originally used to bind the legs of enslaved workers at the Marco Plantation near Chopin.  Both objects were recovered from the Bayou Folk Museum site following the catastrophic fire that destroyed the Alexis Cloutier/Kate Chopin House in 2008. Working with the APHN, Fuqua identified two artifacts recovered from the Bayou Folk Museum/Kate Chopin House site and suggested that the items be included in the exhibition.  Fuqua completed the documentation of Bayou Folk Museum and led the subsequent disaster management, recovering both the shackle and bell. Jason Church, materials conservator at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, assisted in dismantling the bell.

“Artifacts are important to people who study the past because they tell us of the past,” said Dollar. “However, if they stay locked away or stored in boxes somewhere safe, they cannot tell the story they have to tell. They cannot speak to anyone of the past.”

Dollar said she is “thrilled that these artifacts from Natchitoches Parish will be cared for by curators who will see to it that they are preserved for future generations and by museum interpreters and professionals who will see to it that the artifacts can tell their stories.  And their stories will reach far beyond Natchitoches Parish boundaries and will join in a national/international conversation about our nation’s past.”

In addition to these historic objects, the Cane River Creole National Historical Park is also loaning the museum a collection of artifacts made or used by enslaved people at plantation sites in Natchitoches Parish.

“APHN’s mission is to recognize and to celebrate the cultural history of the Cane River region,” said Parrish. “How wonderful it is when in fulfilling that mission we are able to share with the world a bit of our unique history.  In sharing artifacts with the Smithsonian Institute we ensure that generations to come will be informed and enlightened by the exhibition of relics from this diverse cultural heritage we so love.”

As part of the exhibit planning process, staff of the Smithsonian traveled to Natchitoches Parish to contextualize the museum collection.  The local partners and public meeting participants felt that it was crucial for Smithsonian staff to experience the Cane River region to understand the rich cultural heritage and context from which the museum objects originated. The staff met with Dollar and NSU Professor of Anthropology Dr. Hiram F. “Pete” Gregory along with Cane River Creole National Historical Park officials in 2012 to identify potential artifacts and research themes for interpretation of a southern cotton plantation at the museum. Following public scoping and comment meetings, 30 objects were loaned for exhibition at the museum.  The duration of the outgoing loan is 10 years, pending renewal opportunities.  The artifacts were professionally packed and collected last summer and delivered to the Smithsonian conservation treatment facility in Maryland.  Professional conservators have treated a number of the objects.

"We have been drawn to Cane River since the beginning of the Slavery and Freedom exhibition process for its rich and complex history and culture,” said Dr. Nancy Bercaw, curator of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  “We visited three times and with each visit deepened our understanding of the region's past.  We are delighted to feature objects from Cane River Creole National Historical Park and from The Association for Preservation of Historic Natchitoches in the display.  These artifacts help us bring history to life by personalizing the past through men like Solomon Williams or places from churches to homes to workspaces.  We look forward to returning often and learning  from the residents."

Fuqua and former Superintendent Laura Gates worked to identify the museum objects and interpretive content as part of the research request and outgoing loan process.  Fuqua earned a bachelor’s in anthropology and a master’s in heritage resources at Northwestern State.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established in 2003 by an Act of Congress, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. The museum opens on Sept. 24.
Caption

Dustin Fuqua, chief of resource management for the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, looks over a bell recovered from the Bertrand Plantation in Cloutierville which was loaned to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.