Increasing awareness among museums, institutions, and tribal communities about the potential risks of pesticide contamination residues on cultural heritage collections is critical, especially with increasing Indigenous involvement in collection care and the formal repatriation of cultural heritage to Native communities. This webinar will include an overview, case studies, panel discussion, and an opportunity for participants to pose questions relating to these issues.
We will discuss:
- Pesticide contamination of cultural heritage collections found in small and mid-sized institutions and potential human health risk.
- Information about testing, identification, and reporting.
- Some general information about safe handling.
- Frame and share tribal perspectives to open discussion about current and historic challenges facing those who manage these collections today.
This introductory webinar will be followed by a C2C Care Course starting late January 2025 that explores these issues. Participants in the course series will learn about guidelines and tools they can use to find solutions to creating a pesticide history and communicating risks.
Presenters
- Nancy Odegaard, Conservator Emerita, Arizona State Museum
Nancy Odegaard served as Conservator, Head of Preservation Division at the Arizona State Museum and Professor of Anthropology, Materials Science & Engineering, Historic Preservation, and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona from 1983 to 2021. She previously worked at the Smithsonian Institution, Peabody Museum – Harvard University, and with many museums throughout the country and internationally on special projects, conservation assessments, workshops. She has received resident scholar awards from the Fulbright Commission, Getty Conservation Institute, Winterthur Museum, ICCROM- Rome, Canadian Conservation Institute, and University of London as well as receiving an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden in 2016. She is currently Conservator Professor Emerita at the University of Arizona and continues to research, write, and conduct collaborative projects with museums and communities. - Lee Wayne Lomayestewa, NAGPRA Coordinator, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office of the Hopi Tribe
LeeWayne Lomayestewa, a member of the Hopi tribe and the Bear Clan, is a research assistant and the NAGPRA coordinator for the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office of the Hopi Tribe. He serves as the president of the Native Nations Southwest Advisory Panel at the Arizona State Museum and as a member of the Indian Advisory Panel at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. - Kate Compton-Gore, NAGPRA Training Coordinator, National NAGPRA Program
Kate Compton-Gore is a PhD candidate at Northern Arizona University focusing on NAGPRA policy, Indigenous environmental justice, and the ongoing problem of pesticide contamination in collections. She has supported NAGPRA compliance for the past 20 years and is currently the NAGPRA Training Coordinator for the National NAGPRA Program. In this role, she supports Indian Tribes, NHOs, museums, and Federal agencies through training and guidance on the revised regulations. Throughout her career, Ms. Compton-Gore actively focused on community engagement and support. She currently volunteers as the co-facilitator of the NAGPRA Community of Practice, dedicated to decreasing misunderstanding and hesitancy and fostering relationships and healing across the field. - Melodi McAdams , Senior Tribal Heritage Manager, United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria
Melodi McAdams organizes the California Repatriation Community of Practice and the Tribally led Contamination & Repatriation Working group. She has her MA in anthropology with a focus in ethnography and 20 years of experience working for Tribal Governments and Museums on repatriation, Tribal Monitoring and cultural site protection.
