USU Native American Art Exhibit Earns Prestigious National Recognition
A prestigious national history organization has honored a Utah State University museum for its efforts to preserve and showcase Native American artwork connected to regional history.
Key Highlights
- The American Association for State and Local History granted an Award of Excellence to the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art.
- The award honors an exhibition featuring 11 student-created murals from the Intermountain Intertribal Indian School.
- The rediscovered artworks underwent a meticulous four-year conservation process before their public debut.
- Former students and tribal leaders directly authored the interpretive text for the historic collection.
The American Association for State and Local History announced an Award of Excellence to USU’s Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art for Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards are the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.
Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals explored the legacy of the Intermountain Intertribal Indian School in Brigham City, Utah. The exhibition featured 11 student-created murals that once adorned the schoolβs halls and dormitories and underwent an extensive four-year conservation and restoration process after being rediscovered in a garage in 2013, following the demolition of the former campus buildings.
The murals, which required significant stabilization, cleaning, repair and conservation work to ensure their long-term preservation, were created by students who were encouraged by teachers to use art to express cultural identity and connection to home within an assimilationist boarding school system. The murals reflect studentsβ resilience, creativity and survival. Developed in close collaboration with Intermountain alumni, scholars, conservators and tribal leaders, the exhibition marked the first time these restored works were publicly displayed, honoring the voices and experiences of the thousands of Native youth who attended the school.
βThis project has been the most rewarding experience in my museum career, and I know my entire team feels the same way,β said Katie Lee-Koven, NEHMA executive director and curator. βAs βcurator,β I really worked as a facilitator to ensure that the goals of the alumni who attended Intermountain were also our goals. They told us they wanted to be sure that the Intermountain Indian School was not forgotten because it played such a significant role in their lives, so thatβs what we focused on β sharing the history and sharing it through their lens. We didnβt write the interpretive text for the murals; they did. Every decision involved multiple former students and teachers who attended the school along with our staff and scholars. We are very grateful to AASLH for this recognition.β
The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States.
History of the Intermountain Indian School Murals
The artifacts central to this national accolade carry profound historical weight, originating from an institution tasked with indigenous assimilation. Decades after the students painted these expansive visual narratives on campus walls, the physical structures faced demolition. The accidental 2013 recovery of the hidden panels salvaged a vital piece of twentieth-century indigenous history, transforming forgotten architectural fragments into an award-winning vehicle for cultural storytelling.
FAQs
What award did Utah State University receive?
The American Association for State and Local History presented its prestigious Award of Excellence to USU’s Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art for its exceptional work in preserving regional history.
What was the focus of the winning museum exhibition?
The exhibition, titled Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals, highlighted 11 historically significant murals created by indigenous students at a former Utah boarding school.
How long did the mural restoration project take?
Conservators, scholars, and tribal partners collaborated on an extensive four-year restoration and cleaning process to stabilize the rediscovered artworks after they were found in a garage in 2013.
Who authored the descriptions for the exhibited artwork?
In an effort to keep the narrative authentic, indigenous alumni and former teachers who attended the Intermountain school wrote the interpretive text for the exhibition rather than museum staff.
