Lowie Museum of Anthropology

Lowie Museum of Anthropology
Name	Lowie Museum of Anthropology
Established	1904
Location	Berkeley, California
Type	Anthropology museum

Lowie Museum of Anthropology is an anthropology museum affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley that houses collections documenting Indigenous cultures, world cultures, and material history. The museum's holdings and programs intersect with scholarship at University of California system, collaborations with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the American Anthropological Association, and public audiences including visitors to the University of California, Berkeley campus and the city of Berkeley, California. The museum situates its collections within debates linked to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, partnerships with tribal governments, and scholarly networks around museums like the British Museum, Musée du quai Branly, and the Field Museum of Natural History.

History

The museum originated from anthropological collections assembled by faculty including Alfred L. Kroeber, Robert Lowie, H. R. Voth, Samuel A. Barrett, and later curators tied to the Department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley and the Museum of Anthropology at Berkeley; its development paralleled the rise of professional anthropology alongside figures such as Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, Edward Sapir, Ruth Benedict, and Leslie Spier. Early collecting expeditions connected the museum to fieldwork in regions associated with Yurok, Hupa, Miwok, Pomo, and Maidu communities and to broader comparative collections referencing expeditions like those of Lewis and Clark Expedition and collectors linked to Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Throughout the twentieth century, administrative shifts involved interactions with the Regents of the University of California, debates influenced by legal measures like the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and comparative institutional responses similar to those at the American Museum of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, and the California Academy of Sciences.

Collections and Exhibits

The museum's collections include Native Californian material culture, archival photographs, sound recordings, archaeological assemblages, ethnographic objects, and historical documents tied to figures such as Ishi, Alfred L. Kroeber, Robert Lowie, and collectors connected to the Heye Foundation and the Boas Collection; similar collections are held by institutions like the Autry Museum of the American West, Bancroft Library, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and the National Museum of the American Indian. Permanent and rotating exhibits have showcased objects from coastal and inland cultures—items associated with Chumash, Tongva, Ohlone, Wiyot, and Karuk peoples—alongside comparative displays referencing collections at the Peabody Institute, Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, University of Pennsylvania, and the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde. The museum houses photographic series by photographers and ethnographers affiliated with projects similar to those of Edward S. Curtis, field recordings akin to early collections made by Frances Densmore, and archival correspondence connecting to scholars like Theodora Kroeber and Alfred Kroeber.

Architecture and Facilities

Housed in facilities on the University of California, Berkeley campus, the museum shares campus planning concerns with neighboring buildings such as the Hearst Memorial Mining Building, the Doe Library, and the Valley Life Sciences Building; conservation labs, storage vaults, and exhibition spaces reflect standards promulgated by bodies like the American Alliance of Museums and practices used at the Getty Conservation Institute and the Smithsonian Institution Conservation Laboratory. Gallery design has been influenced by exhibition trends visible at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and specialized anthropology displays at the Peabody Museum; climate control, seismic retrofitting, and archival storage meet guidelines comparable to those adopted by the National Park Service and university museum programs across the University of California system.

Research, Education, and Outreach

Research programs connect museum curators and faculty across the Department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, graduate programs linked to the Graduate Group in Anthropology, and collaborations with scholars from institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, Columbia University, and international partners like the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Educational initiatives span school visits coordinated with the Berkeley Unified School District, public lectures featuring scholars from the American Anthropological Association, workshops in collaboration with tribal cultural programs and organizations like the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, and digitization projects modeled after efforts at the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. Outreach includes community-curated exhibitions with partners such as Muwekma Ohlone descendants, tribal governments including Hoopa Valley Tribe and Yurok Tribe, and cultural heritage NGOs similar to Native American Rights Fund and the Association on American Indian Affairs.

Repatriation and Ethical Issues

The museum has engaged in repatriation processes under frameworks such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and ethical guidelines advocated by organizations like the American Anthropological Association and the American Alliance of Museums. Consultations with tribal nations including Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe, Wiyot Tribe, Maidu, and Ohlone groups have paralleled repatriation cases at institutions such as the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the Field Museum of Natural History. Debates have involved provenance research, claim adjudication similar to cases at the Smithsonian Institution, and collaborative stewardship models exemplified by partnerships at the Royal BC Museum and the Waanyi people cooperative arrangements.

Administration and Funding

Administrative oversight involves university offices including the Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, the Vice Chancellor for Research, and coordination with the College of Letters and Science and the Department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley. Funding sources have included university allocations, grants from agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities, private foundations comparable to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation, donor support resembling gifts to the Hearst family patronage networks, and philanthropic organizations like the Packard Foundation and the Gates Foundation. Institutional governance mirrors policies set by bodies such as the Regents of the University of California and aligns with standards promoted by the American Alliance of Museums and federal grantmaking agencies.

Category:Museums in Berkeley, California