Word is out that the Columbia River Maritime Museum (CRMM) in Astoria, Oregon is undergoing a multi-year major renovation and expansion, and for good reason. There will be awe-inspiring physical changes to the museum, but perhaps most strikingly, there will be improvements to the representation of the region’s people. Indigenous voices and Tribes never before honored by the museum will now have more presence including two dedicated gallery spaces.
When doors open this fall, visitors will be able to experience Mariner’s Hall, a 24,500 square foot new-construction exhibition and education space featuring previously unseen archival material including seafaring boats and a helicopter. Smaller objects will be presented in a two-sided, two-story dividing wall, thematically called ‘the bulkhead,’ that will serve as a massive curio cabinet. “The bulkhead allows us to take smaller objects and talk about their commonality in an individual box,” says Caroline Wuebben, CRMM’s director of external engagement, “so whether that’s life preservers; teacups from ships; nautical instruments; or artifacts on loan from the Chinook Nation that explain a little bit more about their heritage.”
Mariner’s Hall will also house the museum’s first dedicated classroom, so children from Southern Washington through Tillamook County, and their teachers, have space for on-site lessons and labs on topics such as simulated sea lion necropsy to building a lighthouse. The Barbey Maritime Center, which educators currently share with community events such as Red Cross blood drives, local hospice group gathering, Coast Guard training and more, will have additional capacity to fill the community demand once the classroom is constructed.
A new rectangular concourse-style gallery entitled, “This is our Place,” will lead visitors between Mariner’s Hall and the existing museum space. “Part of our strategic planning process identified a gap in our storytelling that involved the Indigenous people of this part of the river,” explains Wuebben. Upon reviewing the architectural designs, the connector space was identified as an opportunity to plug the gap. According to Wuebben, the museum contacted Chinook Indian Nation Chairman Tony Johnson and asked how he would like to use the space. Johnson collaborated with photographer Amiran White on the images and information in the space. “They wrote the text for all the exhibit panels; they wrote the welcome message; they approved everything on that exhibit,” says Wuebben. “So it truly is their own story, their own representation of the Chinook Nation.” Down the center of the concourse is one of three Chinook canoes on display at the museum, which are present when they are not in use by the Nation for traditional canoe journeys. “They’re just fascinating; they’re beautiful; they’re simplistic yet they’re elegant—but they’re ocean going— so they’re obviously amazing crafts,” says Wuebben.
Returning guests will be pleased to see the popular exhibits such as the Shipwreck map are still in place after renovations, and now, the museum’s largest gallery space, which is centrally located, is “Cedar to Sea.” This new heart of the museum provides a survey of six coastal Indigenous groups from Oregon north through Washington and British Columbia. “Cedar to Sea” presents cultural artifacts from the Tribes as well as videos of knowledge-givers sharing stories of their Tribes.
The way in which the Museum developed “Cedar to Sea” is a remarkable step forward for the museum, and a model for other institutions aspiring to include more Indigenous voices. “The process was to reach out to the individual Tribes that we were looking to work with, go through their Tribal Councils, and ask for members of those Tribes to talk with us and share with us their knowledge,” says Wuebben. That was not the expedient route, as the process was a multi-year endeavor, but it was a surefooted way to get the information and representation correct. “Cedar to Sea” is open to the public now, and Mariner’s Hall is set to open in October with dynamic and interactive displays that will modernize the museum experience.
“It’s our goal that even though we’re in a rural county, Clatsop County, that students…ought to have the same world class educational opportunities that students in more metropolitan areas have,” said CRMM Executive Director Bruce Jones last fall in an OPB interview. Broadening this sentiment, Wuebben says, “We just feel that it is our mission to tell the story of the Columbia River in a way that makes us a destination, someplace that people want to go and trust, so when they walk in the museum, they feel confident in what they’re being told, what they’re learning, and what they’re hearing.”
