Politics in NYC’s Museums: A Year of Drowning

Political ideology is suffocating America’s great museums, causing them to fail in their mission as protectors of our shared human heritage.

After being awarded a fellowship by Heterodox Academy’s Segal Center for Academic Pluralism to explore museum exhibits for viewpoint diversity and accuracy of information, I dedicated the last year to studying the world-renowned museums of New York City.

Unfortunately, I discovered that museums have become platforms for promoting political agendas, particularly those aligned with the postmodern ideology that places more importance on identity (such as race, gender, nationality, and class) than on truth.

For example, at the American Museum of Natural History’s Northwest Coast Hall, indigenous superstitious beliefs about artifacts intended for shamans are presented as serious concerns, complete with medical-style warning labels.

Warnings about dangerous spirits and cautionary advisories are also found in the museum’s curation rooms, where pregnant women and menstruating women are instructed to avoid certain items believed to contain powerful spirits.

By blurring fact and fiction, natural history museums fail in their educational and scientific missions. Displays that warn of dangerous spirits go against the principles of science.

Additionally, recent regulations due to the Biden administration’s “Indigenous Knowledge Mandate” and changes to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act have led to the closure of many Native American exhibits in museums like the American Museum of Natural History.

Furthermore, the decision to no longer exhibit human remains, including artifacts from the Aztec exhibit, eliminates important teaching tools about different cultural practices related to death and burial.

Art museums are also restructuring exhibits around identity politics, leading to confusing displays and a lack of coherent organization. For example, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibit “Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800” focuses on class, gender, race, and religion.

By redrawing historical borders and grouping artworks based on identity rather than geographical or historical context, museums like the Met are veering towards presentism and ethnocentrism rather than providing accurate representations of history.

These trends in the museum world have led me to believe that our museums, once places of curiosity and learning, are approaching their final days.

Elizabeth Weiss, a professor emeritus of anthropology at San José State University and author of “On the Warpath: My Battles with Indians, Pretendians, and Woke Warriors,”