NEHMA Wins National Award for 'Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals'

A Utah State University exhibit preserving Native American art from local history has earned national recognition.

The American Association for State and Local History announced an Award of Excellence to USU's Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art for Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards are the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

Repainting the I: The Intermountain Intertribal Indian School Murals explored the legacy of the Intermountain Intertribal Indian School in Brigham City, Utah. The exhibition featured 11 student-created murals that once adorned the school’s halls and dormitories and underwent an extensive four-year conservation and restoration process after being rediscovered in a garage in 2013, following the demolition of the former campus buildings.

The murals, which required significant stabilization, cleaning, repair and conservation work to ensure their long-term preservation, were created by students who were encouraged by teachers to use art to express cultural identity and connection to home within an assimilationist boarding school system. The murals reflect students’ resilience, creativity and survival. Developed in close collaboration with Intermountain alumni, scholars, conservators and tribal leaders, the exhibition marked the first time these restored works were publicly displayed, honoring the voices and experiences of the thousands of Native youth who attended the school.

“This project has been the most rewarding experience in my museum career, and I know my entire team feels the same way,” said Katie Lee-Koven, NEHMA executive director and curator. “As ‘curator,’ I really worked as a facilitator to ensure that the goals of the alumni who attended Intermountain were also our goals. They told us they wanted to be sure that the Intermountain Indian School was not forgotten because it played such a significant role in their lives, so that’s what we focused on — sharing the history and sharing it through their lens. We didn’t write the interpretive text for the murals; they did. Every decision involved multiple former students and teachers who attended the school along with our staff and scholars. We are very grateful to AASLH for this recognition.”

The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. For more information about the Leadership in History Awards, contact AASLH at 615-320-3203 or go to www.aaslh.org.