Museum Apologizes for Asking Native Mother to Remove Traditional Baby Carrier

Museum Apologizes for Asking Native Mother to Remove Traditional Baby Carrier

A staff member at the Portland Art Museum told her the basket violated the museum’s “no backpacks” policy.

By Rhea Nayyar (3 days ago) Screenshot of the Karuk mother’s Facebook post recalling the incident. Note: Hyperallergic blurred the toddler’s face and removed their name. (screenshot Rhea Nayyar/Hyperallergic)

Last Saturday, an Indigenous mother of Karuk descent was forced to leave the Portland Art Museum (PAM) in Portland, Oregon, after an employee told her to remove the traditional Karuk woven baby basket in which she was carrying her toddler on her back. The mother shared on Facebook that a staff member told her the basket violated the museum’s “no backpacks” policy. PAM has since published a public apology to the mother, citing policy revisions to prevent this from happening again.“The Portland Art Museum — where being Indigenous is cool as long you are part of the exhibit and not actually practicing your culture,” the mother’s Facebook post began, directly referencing the Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe exhibition on view at the time she visited. She said that the visitor services employee, a White woman, asked her to remove the carrier, likening it to a backpack that would violate the museum’s bag policy.

Museum Apologizes for Asking Native Mother to Remove Traditional Baby Carrier