Loan of Cane River Creole NHP Museum Collections to the Smithsonian Institution for Exhibition at the National Museum of African American History & Culture

The National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC), a unit of the Smithsonian Institution (SI), has requested to enter into a loan agreement with Cane River Creole National Historical Park (NPS-CARI) for the purposes of museum exhibition and interpretation at its forthcoming facility in Washington, D.C. Working with NPS-CARI via the research request process, the Smithsonian Institution has identified a number of local museum objects and artifacts that would serve to interpret Cane River life and the national African American experience at the NMAAHC. NPS-CARI intends to host a public community meeting to discuss the potential loan and exhibition of these nationally-significant Cane River resources at the SI NMAAHC. NPS-CARI welcomes participation of plantation family descendants, traditionally-associated people, park partners, and other interested persons to discuss the inclusion of specific artifacts from the park's museum collection in the context of significant national heritage. A presentation of the proposed loan agreement including the artifacts considered for exhibit use will be followed by a question and answer session by which participants may comment on the proposal.

The public meeting to discuss this long-term loan of park artifacts to the Smithsonian will take place at the Natchitoches Arts Center on Wednesday, March 13 from 3:00 - 5:30 PM.

Interested persons are also encouraged to provide comment using the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) system available on-line at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/npscarisinmaahc.

Contact Information

Laura Gates, Superintendent
Dustin Fuqua, Chief of Resources Management
Nathan Hatfield, Chief of Interpretation