Museum Team: Irish, Martha and Kelly
Do you remember when I last wandered the country to visit you all I told you I was going to be the curator of the IBC museum? Well, you may recall that there wasn’t a museum at that point. I am happy to report that now there is! Three of us on staff formed the team that has been developing several displays over the past few years.
We now have a display on the translation of the Navajo Bible, one that showcases Bibles translated into other Native languages, one that features documents that the school has developed and printed over the years (including a Navajo concordance), and finally, a display on the boarding school movement. These displays are strategically located throughout campus. We are working on dedicating the entire room space in which the boarding school display is located into an area for lament. One of the staff is preparing to paint a mural that will represent the historical trauma experienced by Native people and the healing that is possible through Jesus. I have stepped out of the position of “curator” since Irish is a great organizer, knows how to get things done, and has more flexibility in her schedule than I do. In addition to being the current curator, Irish has served as the Director of Communications since 2022. Kelly is a graduate of IBC and has been the Learning Resource Center Director since 2023 while also pursuing her master’s in information and library science.
In addition to the displays themselves, we have posted various “snippets,” or bits of interesting information related to the displays. We hope to produce one soon on the Indian Placement Program that resulted in approximately 50,000 Native American children being raised in Mormon homes with the goal of converting them to Mormonism and assimilating them into the larger American society. This program has resulted in many Native Americans becoming at least nominal Mormons.
For more information on the museum, please check out this link on the IBC website: We would love to have you visit if you are ever in the area!
Gratefully,
Martha Gushee
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