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Ancient
Voices
A
Museum to honor the least known people in North America,
the Original Tribal Women |
August
2011
The
Museum has been taken down for the Memorial, and will stay down.
Right now I don't know what will happen to the other two Museums
I am supposed to set up now this one has been taken down. I will
update on here once I know.
August
2010
I
am sorry to say that my husband Chuck has passed away from cancer
and so I will be going back to live in England after his one year
Memorial.
The Museum will be taken down in the Center but this web site
will be left on here. I will continue doing talks in Europe,
November
2007
The
Women's museum is finished in Pipestone, it has taken 2 months
to do and has had help from various people. I have to thank these
people here.
The
dress area
Chuck
Derby was of course around all of the time, after all it is
his place and I am his partner. He was the 'odd-job' man, and
whatever needed changing, adding to, taking down, putting up,
fixing, Chuck was there to do it. He was also there to run ideas
by, and his advice was always sound.
Nico
Verhoeve came from the Netherlands to help knock down a wall
and fix the lights, make the stage area and help with the painting.
He also sponsored the manniquins that the dresses are hung on.
He was invaluable. Thanks so much Nico.
Janine
Sackett came from Minneapolis for 2 weeks to help with the
planning and to just 'help out' she felt that she would learn
something from these extraordinary women, however we learned from
each other and we had 'fun' while working with these women. The
night we 'found' some jewellry and put a piece on each woman's
section was particulary fantastic.
Elizabeth
McCabe always seemed to turn up at the right moments, she
would walk in during a crisis and before we knew it the crisis
was gone. So thanks Elizabeth for your continued support and help,
it is appreciated.
Orlene
worked with us on our budget when it came to the women's dresses,
if it hadn't been for her there would be no dresses on display,
as it is there are dresses and they are beautiful. So thanks Orlene,
for your patience and your wonderful clothes.
This
museum was made with love, caring, sensitivity and laughter, I
believe that it shows. Do please visit it and see for yourselves.
This
is the first exhibit that you come to it is for Lori Piestewa,
the young Hopi woman who was the first Native American woman to
be killed in action of foreign soil.
Now
that is done I can divulge the dream I was given. In early 2005
an elder lady came to see me, she was old like the weathered ground,
but seemed to have no colour. She told me that the women of the
world needed to be honoured, and not forgotten. She said that
some of them have had very hard lives but still went on to carve
out a wonderful dream for themselves and they saw that dream grow
into reality. She said that there were many extraordinary women
out there both now and in the past that need to be recognised,
and I had to be the one to do something about it.
Well
as you can imagine this was quite amazing and scary to me. In
the dream I asked her what was I supposed to do, she said, 'Make
museums for them, it's what you do.' Well like I said I didn't
do anything about it because my life at that time was in a bit
of a down slide and so I didn't know what I would be doing with
the rest of my life so how could I take on such a task. I awoke,
I remembered, I didn't tell anyone.
The
lady didn't give up on me, a month later she was back telling
me the same thing. I asked her where I was supposed to do these
museums. She said 'various places', again that floored me. I again
awoke and remembered and didn't tell anyone but I did think about
it. How, when, where? Answers didn't come.
A
month later she was back, this time I asked questions in a more
reasonable way, and was given answers. There were to be three
museums, one in Pipestone Minnesota for Native American women
only, these were the especially forgotten women, they were ignored
by general society and their achievements were not remembered
or marked in any way. (Well OK then that was one that I could
do easier, I knew the place and I could probably find a building
to put it in, and I was familiar with the cultures and could research
for these women if it came to it.) The second museum was to be
put in England (again one I could do as I live there most of the
time) in an ancient place, Avebury, but maybe that could be changed
if needs be. This one was for English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish
women, the people of these Celtic isles, those who were indiginous
to this United Kingdom and Ireland. The third place she would
tell me another time. Well those two could probably be done, except
for buildings and of course finances, on awakening I gave this
much thought and mentioned the idea to one or two people. They
thought it would be great.
The
following month I was told that the buildings would show themselves
and the finances would be there so not to worry, Just do something
in the mean time, set up a website for the first museum, well
that was easy, it is what I do as well, so this site was born
along with the name. The buildings didn't work out, but things
took an upturn for me personally and so I thought that I should
just do what I could and 'wait and see'. So research was the word
of the day and eventually this site went live with information
about a number of women on it.
A
month or two later - more like a year after the first visit, my
friend came back and gave me the rest of the story. The third
museum was to be for the women of the world, of all cultures and
religions. It was to be put in or close to JERUSALEM! I flipped
at this! What did I know about that area? absolutely nothing....
Or did I? It was strange but at that time I had started watching
a movie, I watched it once and then again and then again and I
was hooked on it. I didn't know why but it pulled me and I had
to watch it. It was 'Kingdom of Heaven' with Orlando Bloom
in it. It was based in Jerusalem. It was as if I was being shown
where I should put the third museum before I was told. I had mentioned
my addiction to this film to a number of people and had told them
it didn't make sense why I was so hooked on it. After this dream
it seemed to make more sense. Anyway I digress. I asked my friend
why that city and she said that it was important to the world's
three largest religions, none of those religions show too much
respect to their women or their achievements. These were Christianity,
Judaism, and Islam, all three sharing the city for hundreds of
years and all three vying for control over it for the same hundreds
of years . Right now there is an uneasy truce and understanding
and sharing but the area is like a tinderbox and could ignite
at any moment, and this is where she said I, a woman, a white
women, a woman who is not a part of any of these 3 religions,
should set up a museum for women. My mind balked at the idea.
I awoke, I remembered, oh how I remembered, and this time I told
a couple of people. I expected them to say, you're nuts, but instead
they said 'what a great idea I'd like to come with you to help'!
That has been the reaction of all women that I have told. They
want to come with me to help.
Well
for now I have just finished the one in Pipestone, as she had
said the building appeared, well it had been there all along,
but Chuck told me that I could use the front of the Little Feather
Center to put it in. We have a contract and everything so it is
all above board. it is beautiful and I love it. The next will
be in England, time and place to be announced when I know! Wish
me luck. It is about time for my friend's visit, I wonder what
she will tell me this time, 'oh just put another museum on the
moon', after all there have been women astronauts!
The
sitting and library area. This was a room but the wall was taken
out and this is what is left a great open space for exhibits,
sitting and reading,
May
2007
In the past month I was offered space in Pipestone
to house the Museum and I have accepted. Right now I am collecting
items to put in it, and designing the layout of the museum. Just
yesterday I found a wonderful buckskin dress and have worked with
the owner, a Lakota woman, to have it displayed in the museum.
All
of the things I have listed below will be in the museum and I
hope that you will visit it.
The
building where it will be needs to be altered and so it won't
be opening it's doors until September 2007
Introduction
2005
I
have worked in a Native American Museum off and on for over 10
years, it is physically located in Pipestone, Minnesota, but also
had a large virtual presence on the World Wide Web. For various
reasons I left there, and then was given a dream which I didn't
work on for a while, but it kept coming back to me, and so eventually
I decided to take notice and do something about it. At this point
I decided to set up another museum in Pipestone, as depicted in
the dream, this time dedicated to the forgotten and least known
people of North America, the Women of the Native American Tribes.
People
tend to almost have a distorted view of the Women of the Native
Nations, believing them to be abused and used by their men. They
are seen as slaves who had nothing of their own and who had no
say in what their men and Tribes were doing. In most cases this
is complete nonsense. This Museum and site will, I hope, put many
of these misconceptions to rest and will allow the full abilities
of the women to shine.
Their
Ancient Voices can almost be heard coming from the items in the
exhibits, and each has its own story to tell. Please take a voyage
thru their lives with us here and listen as they present you with
the gift of their most colorful herstory.
At
present this is only a virtual Museum, I am searching for premises
to house the physical museum exhibits, I hope that you will visit
us there once it is set up. I am visualizing the following things
on the physical premises:
1.
A large library section where you will be able to sit and read
any of the books we have that are not for sale. This area will
be invaluable for those doing research on any Native American
subject. (DONE)
2. Coffee will always be available for those who need
to have a quick break in a comfortable space. (DONE)
3. I am at present working on presentations and workshops on
various subjects pertaining to this site and museum that will
also take place on the premises or further afield as the 'Beads
& Buckskins' program has done in previous years. If
you would like to hear one of the presentations do please contact
us. (DONE)
4. I hope to have a sales area housed in the building as well
where you will be able to get various Native and non-native made items.
(DONE)
I
will always welcome 'Red Hats' and 'Sisters in Spirit' members.
Please sign our guest book to let us know you have visited.
Gloria
Hazell, (June 2006)
Researcher, curator and web designer
Gloria's
Biography
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