American Indian History Month Display

My mother used to tell me that anything worth having is worth working for. I definitely put that principle to the test for the last week while Trina and I were working to complete the display for American Indian History Month. Preparation for this display began about a month ago and when it came to crunch time things just weren't falling into place like they were supposed to. If you have ever done the type of displays we do here I think that you might appreciate what I am saying. Every little step takes time and precision and with some aspects of the display (i.e. mounting photographs on to matte board, or scanning pictures) if you mess up the first time you have to go back and do the process all over again. Finally, this morning (after much screaming and gnashing of teeth) I finished my portion of the display. Woo hoo!

One of the things that I think made this display so difficult to complete (a sentiment that I think may carry through to the rest of our displays and reaches back to the first display) is a want to make sure we are accurately portraying our display subjects. Our displays are very people centered and that adds the extra challenge of being sensitive to cultures that are not our own, and that we may not be well acquainted with. Before we finalize decisions on our displays we like to enlist the help of others who know more. This month we had help from Greg and Debra our friends in Special Collections, IUPUI staff members, and members of the NASA (Native American Student Association) at IUPUI.

With their help I think that we have made this display interesting and informative. However, after spending hours and hours researching, gluing, taping, mounting and printing, when I finished hanging the final picture and stood back to look at the work i realized something: displays can only do so much. The most fulfilling and important part of this fellowship is the fact that we have the opportunity to have others share their experiences with us. The time we spend immersed in the diversity of the human experience is more enriching than any amount of research will ever be.

Until next week...in the words of Tim Gunn "Carry on" and "Make it work!"
Ashley