The Western Museums Association (WMA) is proud to present the first installment of videos from the first WestMusings | Ten Minute Museum Talks. This new programmatic feature took place at the 2013 Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. Based on TED Talks’ model, WestMusings is an unconference program of short, rehearsed, and engaging presentations on museum related topics. WestMusings will provide an important platform for tomorrow’s museums leaders to speak today at Annual Meetings.

James Pepper Henry, Director and CEO, Heard Museum

James Pepper Henry is a member of the Kaw Nation of Oklahoma and Muscogee Creek Nation. Likewise, he has worked at multiple Native American Institutions throughout the United States including his current position as the Heard Museum’s Director and CEO, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, and at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). During his WestMusings presentation, Culture Clashes: Native Americans and Colonial Museums, James discussed his experiences working with Native Americans and their sacred objects during the creation of NMAI.

The 2013 WestMusings was MC’ed by James Leventhal, Deputy Director for Development at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and WMA’s Vice President of Membership and Development.