American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History will use grant funds to conserve an irreplaceable collection of totem poles and other large-scale carvings contained in its Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, which includes displays from the major peoples of the Northwest Coast, including the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Coast Salish, Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl), Nuxalk (Bella Coola), Kwakwaka’wakw, Tsimshianic Peoples (Tsimshian), Tlingit, and Haida. The museum will conserve 16 carvings that can be accommodated in the Anthropology Division’s objects conservation laboratory. These treatments will address both the structural instability and surface appearance of the objects, with the first emphasis being the stabilization of the artifacts so they can be safely maintained.