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Anishinaabek exhibit returns to Grand Rapids Public Museum after renovation

Anishinaabek exhibit returns to Grand Rapids Public Museum after renovation

Built World Grand Rapids, MI local

Reimagined core display returns under the theme "We are Still Here"

October 12th, 2026: Exhibit reopens to the public on Indigenous Peoples' Day

Overview

Updated Oct 29

The Grand Rapids Public Museum reopened its Anishinaabek exhibit on Indigenous Peoples' Day, October 12, 2026, after taking it off the floor in January 2025. The gallery is now called "Anishinaabek: The Original People of This Place," still built around the theme "We are Still Here."

The retitling came at the urging of Deb Moeller, a former museum colleague who chaired the city's Community Relations Commission and died before the opening. The redesign was guided by the Eshtoojik Council, about 30 people representing all 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan and the state-recognized Grand River Bands. Visitors meet life-size digital storytellers and holograms, and the design firm Thought Process says the exhibit around them changes with the seasons.

Why it matters

A major Midwest museum now presents the Anishinaabek as a present, living people rather than a vanished past.

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Key Indicators

21 months
Exhibit off the floor before reopening
Closed Jan. 5, 2025; reopened to the public Oct. 12, 2026.
12
Tribal governments on the advisory council
All 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan, plus the state-recognized Grand River Bands, were represented on the Eshtoojik Council.
250,000+
Artifacts and specimens in museum collection
Count the museum publishes for its collection.
1854
Year the museum was founded
Founded as the Grand Rapids Lyceum of Natural History.
"We are Still Here"
Reimagined exhibit's organizing theme
Frames the Anishinaabek as a living, present people.

Voices

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People Involved

Dale Robertson
Dale Robertson
President and CEO, Grand Rapids Public Museum
Oversaw the museum's reopening of the Anishinaabek exhibit to the public on Oct 12
 Katrina Furman
Katrina Furman
Anishinaabe Curator, Grand Rapids Public Museum
Curator of the redesigned Anishinaabek exhibit
PD
Phyllis Davis
Eshtoojik Council member; citizen of the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians
Served on the advisory council that guided the exhibit redesign through its Oct. 12, 2026 opening
 David LeGrand
David LeGrand
Mayor of Grand Rapids
Spoke at the exhibit's opening on Indigenous Peoples' Day, Oct. 12, 2026

Organizations Involved

Grand Rapids Public Museum
Grand Rapids Public Museum
Public museum
Reopened its Anishinaabek exhibit to the public on October 12, 2026

Grand Rapids history, culture and science museum, founded in 1854, with about 250,000 artifacts in its collection.
AT
Anishinaabek nations (Three Fires Confederacy)
Confederation of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi nations
Communities whose history the exhibit presents

The Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples of the Great Lakes region, the original inhabitants of what is now west Michigan.
EC
Eshtoojik Council
Advisory group
Advised the redesign from 2023 through the exhibit's Oct. 12, 2026 opening

An advisory group representing Michigan's federal and state-recognized tribal governments, formed to guide the exhibit's redesign.

Timeline

January 2025 October 2026

3 events Latest: October 12th, 2026 · 1 month ago

  1. Exhibit reopens to the public on Indigenous Peoples' Day

    Latest Reopening

    The museum opened the redesigned gallery under the new title "Anishinaabek: The Original People of This Place," two days after a powwow celebrated its return.

  2. Grand Opening PowWow celebrates the exhibit's return

    Reopening

    The museum closed at 4 p.m. for a 6-9 p.m. PowWow celebrating the reimagined exhibit, themed "We are Still Here," which opens to the public on October 12.

  3. Anishinaabek exhibit closes for renovation

    Closure

    The Grand Rapids Public Museum took its core Anishinaabek display off the floor for updates after years on view.

Scenarios

1

GRPM formalizes Anishinaabek advisory council

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Local press and tribal museum advocates following the reopening

The powwow and community-centered framing suggest an active relationship between the museum and Anishinaabek nations. A formal step would make it permanent: a standing advisory body with ongoing authority over how the exhibit is presented and updated.

2

Tribal nations file NAGPRA repatriation claims against GRPM

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Tribal historic preservation offices

Rethinking how Native heritage is shown often raises questions about items still held in collections. Tribal nations could file claims under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act for artifacts or remains in the museum's holdings.

3

Peer museum cites GRPM exhibit as a co-curation model

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: American Alliance of Museums and museum studies press

Museums nationwide are struggling with how to display Native heritage after 2024 rule changes tightened tribal consent requirements. If GRPM's approach is seen as a workable template, a peer institution would cite it publicly when announcing its own community-led exhibit work.

4

Wall of Honor fills out with visitor nominations

Possible Resolves by Oct 12, 2027

Discussed by: Museum staff who built the Ogitchidaak section

The veterans section has an interactive screen of Anishinaabe veterans, and the museum accepts nominations for it through a QR code in the gallery. The database started from forms families submitted before the exhibit opened.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

January 2024

American Museum of Natural History closes Native halls (2024)

After new federal rules took effect requiring tribal consent before museums could display Native cultural items, the American Museum of Natural History in New York closed two halls of Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains artifacts. The museum had not yet arranged that consent.

Then

The halls stayed shut while the museum consulted with tribes about which items could be shown.

Now

The move normalized the idea that Native objects cannot be displayed without tribal sign-off.

Why this matters now

Shows the regulatory pressure behind the shift GRPM embraced voluntarily — Native communities gaining authority over how their heritage appears in museums.

1989

National Museum of the American Indian established (1989)

Congress created the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, mandating that Native peoples be consulted in its design and operation. It opened on the National Mall in 2004.

Then

Established a federal institution built around Native voices rather than outsider depictions.

Now

Set a national standard for co-curation with source communities.

Why this matters now

GRPM's reimagined exhibit is a smaller-scale version of the same idea: a community's story told with the community's voice.

Sources

(11)
+5
WZZM 13 Grand Rapids Public Museum Experience Grand Rapids Native News Online MLive Grand Rapids Magazine Spectrum News Thought Process (LinkedIn) Grand Rapids Public Museum Grand Rapids Public Museum WZZM 13