When the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma opened September 18, 2021, it did so welcoming all. It welcomes Native Americans as family. It welcomes non-natives as guests. Both warmly, but there is a difference.
Make no mistake, non-native visitors to the museum are guests. The invitation to explore is open, but they are not in charge. They are not telling the story. It’s not their space.
That’s a dramatic change from the colonial history of institutional storytelling in America wh...