Wednesday, June 18 • Thursday, June 19 • Friday, June 20

Wednesday, June 18 Pre-Conference Workshop PRESENTING THE RIGHT VOICE: REMOVING CULTURAL BARRIERS

8:30AM – 3:00PM Pre-conference Workshop Cathlapotle Plankhouse

Moderators: Becky Archibald, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Member and Clark County Historical Society Board Member. USFWS personnel In keeping with the theme of this year’s conference, we have designed a pre-conference symposium that addresses myths, stereotypes and misinformation that create cultural barriers. Our pre-conference symposium will be held inside the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s Cathlapotle Plankhouse located on the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Ridgefield, WA. The site is a replica Chinookan-style Plankhouse situated along the banks of the Columbia River and located near the former Chinook village that was host to Lewis and Clark 202 years ago. This is a unique opportunity for museum professionals whose organizations hold and interpret Native American collections and/or produce related public programming.

Pre-conference Participants Please Note: Primitive conditions exist at the plankhouse site. A short hike from the gravel parking lot, along a dirt trail, is required to get to the site. If you are not able bodied please contact Susan Tissot at (360) 993-5679 so we can make arrangements. Please dress comfortably and in layers; the plankhouse is unheated. The restroom is located at the parking lot; a porta-potty unit will be brought in. Coffee, tea, water and boxed lunches will be provided. This is a fabulous interpretive site and well worth the effort!

8:30AM - 9:00AM Registration & Coffee 9:00AM - 9:15AM Opening Blessing and Welcome Sam Robinson, Vice Chair, Chinook Tribe 9:15AM - 10:00AM Sam Robinson, Vice Chair, Chinook Tribe. Discussion about the purpose of the Cathlapotle Plankhouse site/structure, the significance of the site, cultural resource stewardship and educational benefits. 10:00AM - 11:00AM Bob Miller, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Associate Professor, Lewis & Clark Law School, Chief Justice, Court of Appeals, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde to discuss myths and misunderstanding about termination, treaties and sovereignty. 11: 00AM - 12:00PM Pat Courtney Gold, Wasco-Wishram, to discuss brief history of commerce and life along the river, material culture and misinterpretations about native cultures and associated artifacts in museum collections. 12:00PM - 12:45PM Lunch Break 12:45PM - 1:45PM Speaker TBA. Discussion about myths and misunderstandings that perpetuate stereotypes and create cultural barriers between non-Indians and Indians. Making contact: when and how to find a tribal partner or advisor. 1:45PM - 2:30PM Melissa Parr, Tribal Liaison, Washington State Historical Society. Women of Boldt. Looking at how oral history can add to the body of knowledge on Native American Sovereignty. An example of a museum/tribal partnership. 2:30PM - 3:00PM Closing Prayer & Gifting Ceremony

CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS PLEASE NOTE: The 2008 conference is taking place in multiple locations in Clark County. The pre-conference symposium is in Ridgefield; tours and opening reception in downtown Vancouver; two days of concurrent sessions on WSU V campus in Salmon Creek; banquet at English Estates Winery in east Vancouver. Maps will be provided.

WMA Conference 2008 Tear Down That Wall! Breaking Down Barriers

3:00PM – 6:00PM Registration Clark County Historical Museum 4:00PM – 5:00PM Washington Museum Association Board Meeting WMA members are welcome Clark County Historical Museum 4:00PM – 5:00PM Special Tours–Downtown Vancouver Sites Advanced registration required (see Registration Form)

Visit Fort Vancouver on the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. National Park Service staff will give you a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum facility, presenting highlights from the park’s collection of over two million objects. The artifacts represent the Native American, fur trade, and military periods of the site, providing a tangible timeline of the region’s development from stone tool technology to 21st century modernity in just two centuries. The tour will meet at the front gate of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, 1001 East 5th Street, in Vancouver. (360) 816-6252 Get a Sneak Preview of the Washington State School for the Blind’s, new Tactile Museum of Natural History. Safari Club International’s Washington Chapter has been working with the School for the Blind in the Development of a Tactile Museum of Natural History - “Sensory Safari” which will provide blind and visually impaired persons an opportunity to see through the sense of touch, the wonders of nature. This new museum will be open to the public the fall of 2008. The museum has been designed for the blind/visually impaired, but the school believes this museum, which will feature blind/visually impaired student docents will also provide an opportunity for the public to connect with their other senses. Come and join in on this sensory experience! The tour will meet at the WSSB administrative office. (360) 696-6321 Do you appreciate great architecture? Join Mary Grgich from the Clark County Historical Museum for a special version of one of the museum’s nine downtown Vancouver Historic Walking Tours. Mary has arranged a special treat just for WMA members on this tour. This version of the tour will include an inside look at the 1905 Kittenring House. Please dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes and clothing for the tour will go on rain or shine! The tour will start from the Clark County Historical Museum at 1511 Main St. (360) 993-5679.

5:30PM – 7:30PM Opening Reception Sponsored by Day & Night Studios and the Clark County Historical Society Join your fellow museum professionals for an evening of heavy hors d’oeuvres, drink and great conversation! Do you have a favorite 1960’s or 70’s style outfit? Feel free to go in style and wear it because we will be viewing the museum’s new Boomer! exhibit. There will be a prize given for the grooviest outfit.

Wednesday, June 18 • Thursday, June 19 • Friday, June 20

WMA Award of Excellence
The WMA recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of museum work by awarding up to eight Awards of Excellence annually. The award year runs from January through December 2007. To be eligible, the nominee must have exhibited the ability to set standards of leadership through outstanding service, established precedent, fulfilled mission and purpose, showed marked improvement, and provided an extended level of service to the community served. The recipients of the awards will be honored during a special presentation at the 2008 Annual WMA Conference, Tear Down that Wall! - Breaking Down Barriers, to be hosted by the Clark County Historical Society and Museum, on June 18th - 20th, 2008.
Download a nomination form in Microsoft Word • PDF

Washington State Museum Association Conferences For a history of WMA Conferences, click here. For a history of WMA Award of Excellence winners, click here.