New director outlines museum goals, plans
By Bill Donovan
Special to the Times
E-mail this story
The Navajo Nation Museum has never got the respect tribal officials hoped it would receive when it was constructed some 12 years ago.
But Manuelito "Manny" Wheeler, the museum's new director, vows to change that.
Wheeler is the first Navajo to be appointed to run the museum since it was created in the early 1960s by Martin Link, the first director.
At that time the museum was housed in a small building next to the rodeo arena at the fairgrounds in Window Rock.
In the early 1980s, it was moved to a small area in back of the Navajo Arts and Crafts Enterprise building in Window Rock.
When it finally moved into its permanent home in 1998, tribal leaders voiced hopes that, coupled with the library and research archives also housed there, the museum could become a center of a Navajo cultural resurgence.
But in the past several years, the museum has come under severe criticism from members of the Navajo Nation Council and the public for not fulfilling their vision of it as a place that the Navajo people could look upon with pride.
Instead, with no permanent exhibits and only sparse temporary exhibits, it became a glorified conference facility, used only by tribal government departments to hold classes or seminars.
Wheeler said he plans to change that image.
One of his first priorities, he said, is to create a permanent exhibit that would give Navajos and those interested in the Navajo culture a sense of the rich cultural history of the people.
Geoffrey Brown, who directed the museum for several years, said during his tenure that the problem was money. A permanent exhibit would cost several hundred thousand dollars and the museum couldn't afford it.
Wheeler, who is now in his sixth week as museum director, said exhibits are costly but his experience - which includes working in exhibit design for the Heard Museum in Phoenix for 11 years - gives him confidence that it can be done here.
After all, the former museum locations had permanent exhibits. But it's not going to happen overnight, he added.
Wheeler said it would take between two and four years to mount a permanent exhibit.
"Until then we will have exhibits that our staff will create as well as having traveling exhibits brought here," he said.
Wheeler, who grew up in Ganado, Ariz., and graduated with an art degree from Arizona State University, said he realizes that the museum has never reached its potential.
"The museum has had a lot of ups and downs, mostly downs, but this can be changed," he said.
The museum building itself, he said, is in pretty good condition.
There have been stories to the contrary in recent years. Staff members reported severe problems, including a leaking roof and a cooling and heating system that didn't function most of the time.
Wheeler said these problems have been fixed. He is addressing the appearance of the museum, including the scruffy appearance of the grounds around the building.
The museum's collection is in good shape, he said, although he admits that with no permanent exhibits and few exhibits of any kind, most of the collection has not been seen by many eyes.
In fact, the only part of the museum's collection that has been seen by the public is the portion that was lent out to Diné College some 20 years ago and is on display at the college.
He's looking into reports that some of the collection may have gone missing over the years, but so far he has seen no evidence that any major portions of the collection are missing.
During the 1970s the museum loaned out pieces of artwork so that division directors could decorate their offices.
Wheeler said he has heard reports that some valuable pieces were never returned, but so far he has seen no evidence that those stories are true.
He is looking at alternative uses for the small food service area that was originally envisioned as a café. The facility has only been used for catering events at the museum.
He wants to change that and open a coffee shop, noting that he has relevant experience with that.
In the early 1990s, after working as an advertising rep at the Navajo Times for a couple of years, Wheeler opened the first stand-alone coffee shop on the reservation.
Called "Navajo Joe's," it was located in the Fed Mart complex where the IGA store is now located. The café provided espresso and other soft drinks for a thirsty Window Rock population for more than a year.
Wheeler listed a number of changes he hopes to make at the museum in the next few months and said he feels his staff of 11 has the ability to handle them. "We have a good staff here," he said.
He wants to have a few exhibits up and running by this summer and hopes to schedule events that will attract tourists visiting the area, as well.
At this point, Wheeler has no plans to change the museum hours of operations, and says it will continue to be closed on Sunday "until we have a reason to keep it open then."
The museum is open Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.