MUSEUM STAFFERS PART OF STATEWIDE DISASTER RESPONSE TEAM

Three staff members of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History were part of a Disaster Response Team that traveled to Carnegie, OK last week to come to the aid of the Kiowa Tribal Museum. A leaking roof was putting 10 large paintings by Kiowa artists at risk of possible damage, and members of the Disaster Response Team, including three staff members from SNOMNH along with two staff members from Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, went to provide assistance at the site and bring the valuable paintings back to the SNOMNH for safekeeping.

The paintings, by Kiowa artists Parker Boyiddle, Mirac Creeping Bear and Sherman Chaddleson, are very large – each measuring 6 by 8 feet. They were displayed in an area of the museum that was once an open courtyard but was roofed over some time ago to provide exhibit space. The persistent rain over the past few weeks caused leaks in the roof, which, though not catastrophic in nature, posed a potential threat to the paintings. The Kiowa Nation asked that the SNOMNH house the paintings in its collections until a new roof can be completed on the Kiowa museum.

The Disaster Response Team was created in 2004 by the Oklahoma Registrar’s Association, a standing committee of the Oklahoma Museums Association. The team is made up of nine professionals from museums across the state who have received in-depth disaster recovery training from Barbara Moore, a conservator trained specifically to train others by the American Institute of Conservation. They provide guidance in collections recovery, stabilization, organization and overall professional support to Oklahoma museums in the event of a disaster. Each member is prepared with lists of resources for supplies and equipment that may be needed to save precious museum objects from all manner of emergencies, large and small.

DRT members from the SNOMNH include Julie Droke, registrar; Victoria Book, conservator; and Jennifer Holt, integrated pest management and bug room technician. Lawton DRT members Jim Whiteley and Janna Brown also responded to the call. Michael Jordan, a University of Oklahoma PhD candidate specializing in Kiowa ethnology, also joined the team for his familiarity with the Kiowa Tribal Museum and its collections. The mission was good practice for the recently formed team, which until now had never been called upon to mobilize an onsite recovery plan.

“Primarily the DRT serves as an advisory body to museums in need,” explained Julie Droke, registrar at the SNOMNH. “We talk people through the disaster recovery process, answer their questions and provide advice about how best to proceed, as well as some information about the resources that might be needed. The team can also provide physical assistance where it is needed, as in this case. Fortunately, the damage to the museum was not extensive, and we were able to take the paintings out before they sustained any damage at all.”

The expertise and guidance of the Disaster Recovery Team are available to all Oklahoma museums, large or small. Information about the service is available on the Standing Committees page of the Oklahoma Museums Association Website: www.okmuseums.org.

The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is located on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday. A family of four can visit for under $20. Additional information about the museum is available on the Web at www.snomnh.ou.edu, or by calling (405) 325-4712.

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