In May 2024, as an active member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s (AIHA) Museum and Cultural Heritage Industry Working Group, Professor Holly Cusack-McVeigh partnered with some of our nation’s leading experts and scientists to forge new, exciting research collaborations that address these real-world problems while creating unique research opportunities for my students. Project Description: From the late 1800s well into the 20th century, museums utilized pesticides to safeguard their collections, including Native American artifacts, from rodent and insect damage. This use left behind toxic residues that create risks for museum staff and tribal communities. The 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) mandates that federally-funded institutions must repatriate holdings of ancestors, sacred items, funerary items, and cultural patrimony back to tribal communities. Unfortunately, many tribal communities have received cultural items without prior notification of their previous pesticide treatment; only to discover that the repatriated items were contaminated with chemicals that present health hazards to descendant communities. Click here to learn more about this important project; read the article here; and click here for a media interview with Dr. Cusack-McVeigh about the project!
