Portland Art Museum offers cringe-worthy apologies to Native American woman

The Portland Art Museum has issued a rude apology after asking a Native American woman to abide by the institution’s rules and remove the baby basket she was carrying on her back.

The woman, Sophie Neuner, posted a photo and statement on her Facebook claiming the museum was racist for asking her to remove the large woven baby carrier she used to support her child as they made their way through the art.

The museum has a no backpack policy to protect the art.

Two of the museum’s current exhibits feature Native and Native American art, including Jeffrey Gibson’s They Come From Fire and Dakota Modern’s The Art of Oscar Howe.

Neuner, a member of the Karuk tribe, posted that she was viewing the Dakota Modern exhibit when she was asked to remove her baby carrier.

After Neuner made her complaint public, the museum quickly apologized and said it would reevaluate its no-backpack policy

She said an employee approached her and told her that the baby basket posed a threat to the art and the child.

She tagged the museum and wrote, “The Portland Art Museum – where being a native is cool for so long [as] you are part of the exhibition and not really practicing your culture.’

“According to the nice white lady, Leland’s baby basket is a danger to the art and to my baby as well.

“Backpacks are not allowed under museum policy,” cool item is, she says when we’re shown the door,’ the disgruntled mother wrote.

“Kill the Indian, Save The Man was also a policy, I point out.”

“You need to cool down – take a deep breath,” replies the lady. The irony: We were at an Indigenous art exhibition. Racism is alive and well within these walls,” she wrote.

The museum has a bag policy that states that no bags larger than 11 by 17 by 6 inches may be carried into the museum and that visitors may not carry anything on their backs.

Despite the clearly written policy, the museum issued a lengthy apology to Neuner and said it would review its policy.

In a response to Neuner’s Facebook page, the museum wrote: “We apologize for causing any damage. We are reviewing our policies and internal staff communications to prevent this from happening again.

Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe is the exhibition that Neuner and her child were asked to leave

The Portland Art Museum, currently hosting two Native American art exhibits

According to her online profiles, Sophie Neuner is an MD, MPH, aspiring OB/GYN, and Indigenous women’s health advocate

Sophie Neuner in a different setting with her hand-woven baby carrier to transport her child

“We are heartbroken that you and your family had a negative experience at the museum, especially in an exhibit celebrating Native American art. We want everyone to feel welcome, and we failed to deliver on your Saturday visit.

“This incident does not reflect our values ​​as a museum and we regret that it happened. We are reviewing visitor policies regarding baby carriers to address this immediately,” it concluded.

The Portland Art Museum’s curator of Native American Art said the incident further destabilized the already tense relationship between Native peoples and art institutions, according to Oregon Live.

“The relationship between Indigenous people and museums has not always been easy,” says Kathleen Ash-Milby. “We’re working really hard to build our relationships with our local Indigenous voters and I think this makes all of us very sad that it happened and could put us back in those relationships.”

The museum posted its effusive apology on its Facebook and Instagram pages, in addition to calling a staff meeting about the incident

Sophie Neuner and her husband Chris Weinstein with their child

Some of Neuner’s Facebook followers who saw the post reacted even more dramatically than she had to the incident.

“Sophie, you have a good cause for a lawsuit against this museum, we are all with you if you decide to go down this road to make sure this never happens again. I hope you do,” wrote Kendall Michelle Hogeland.

“Terrible that you were told to calm down. You would think people working there would recognize what they were looking at. The museum should take the time to really get to know the culture and see how it is still alive today despite all the real efforts to destroy it,” wrote Valerie Wright.

Others, however, felt that Neuner’s position was exaggerated.

Can someone explain why this is racist? LOL. Of course the employee was ignorant. But your race, the race of your baby and the race of your backpack had nothing to do with it,” wrote Michael Adolf.

“Uhh, they just didn’t want you knocking things around… This is just playing the victim,” wrote Ian Holmes.