Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center — Attraction in Clay District

EDIT: The museum has acknowledged the issue and has expressed interest in making changes. They have a lot of work to do, but it’s definitely possible to change and be a better cultural center overall if they keep up with it. Added stars because of acknowledgement and starting to have meaningful conversations with tribally affiliated people. Hoping to add more stars in the future.

Original Review: Being a small museum means constantly trying to do a lot with very limited resources and often working beyond staff areas of expertise. BUT it also doesn’t exempt an organization from the expectation that they address the past and present of cultural groups respectfully and responsibly. Taking a moment to fully listen, reflect, and sit with some discomfort when people say you’re doing something harmful can go a long way toward creating relationships rather than barriers. If y’all have a program on Native American history and don’t stop to listen when folks (many of them Native American) ask you to include Native American people in telling their history, it perpetuates longstanding issues of exclusion, misrepresentation (even if unintentional), and inaccuracy in public history. Replying “were you there?” to criticism on a Facebook post without meaningfully addressing concerns raised—and then shutting down comments without possibility of discussion—is a good way to lose credibility and respect. With social media and the internet, museums serve more than just folks who walk through the doors. It matters how something comes across on Facebook just as much as in-person. If there was something in the in-person presentation that addressed the concerns raised, that’s important information to include in the post and it should be updated. If (as It seems) there isn’t, then acknowledge it and take a moment to listen. You don’t need an immediate 10-point plan to solve the problems raised, but need to show over time that you’re working on it.

Having a Non-Native person do a presentation on white captives without any Native American presenters isn’t a work-around for not having a Native presenter. They’re still showing material items and talking about cultures that have living descendants in our communities. Work with people from those nations. Collaboration is engaging and helps you serve the whole community better.

People are being critical because they care about the history you’re presenting. Instead of pushing us away, engage us. Seek out the American Indian nations related to your museum and start building connections. It is important work, so putting in time to build relationships is absolutely necessary if you’re following your mission to serve the community. That might not be something you have experience or training in — if that’s the case, start asking questions of museums or groups who have been making those changes rather than dismissing the topic.

I’ll be following along via social media and hope...

All grandparents are from Weirton; the decline of the mill and American industry in general is hard to take, and these folks are to be applauded for their attempts at preserving the heritage of Holiday's Cove. The virtual presentation of the fete honoring my long-departed Grandmother was very well done. With respect to the traveling Smithsonian exhibit about rural America, I personally felt it was strangely disconnected from reality and offensive, and I got the impression that it was assembled by a cabal of East Coast elites as some kind of boorish attempt to explain how the anyone outside urban refinement (in in Wierton and surroundings) could possibly have endured such a wretched existence; as if the mere fact that inhabitants survived the challenges imposed upon them...

Very friendly people who organized a field trip here for my job where we provide services to adults with ID. The staff was polite and involved with our individuals who were asking questions. They were patient and let us go through and see all the interesting "artifacts" of our area. The steel mill history and old bridge history was part of our favorites. They even took time for us to explore upstairs and invited us back again. We even received free donuts by chance. They were also very lenient about us taking pictures. Great experience for a local girl or anyone...