DATE: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30, 2009.

EVENT: W. Richard West Jr., founding director emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, will present the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History’s 11th annual William R. Farrand lecture.

His talk, “The National Museum of the American Indian: Reflections on American History and 21st Century Museology,” is the first in the Wednesday Night Museums lecture series, part of the U-M College of Literature, Science, and the Arts’ Museum Theme Year.

The opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in 2004, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., turned the page in American history by recognizing and affirming the primary place of native peoples as the first citizens of the Americas and an integral element of American heritage. It also transformed and expanded the definition of the term “museum” from a stop on the tour bus route to a gathering place and forum of national and international reach for representation, discussion and debate.

West, a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma and a Peace Chief of the Southern Cheyenne, retired in 2007 as founding director of the museum. He has devoted his life to working with American Indians on cultural, educational, legal and governmental issues.

Before becoming museum director, West practiced law at the Indian-owned Albuquerque, N.M., law firm of Gover, Stetson, Williams & West, and has served as general counsel and special counsel to numerous tribes and organizations. He has represented clients before federal, state and tribal courts, various executive departments of the federal government and Congress. West serves on numerous boards and is currently vice president of the International Council of Museums.

PLACE: U-M Museum of Art, Helmut Stern Auditorium: 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor. A reception will follow the free public lecture.

SPONSORS: Exhibit Museum of Natural History; Native American Studies Program; College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.

MapMuseum Theme Year