This popular downtown Tacoma museum is closing for a month to install a new exhibition
The Washington State History Museum will close for a month in mid-January in order to install a new permanent indigenous exhibition curated by Native Americans.
Although the closure doesn’t start until Jan. 13, the museum is offering half-off admission to its special exhibitions now through Jan. 12. The museum will reopen Feb. 18 with parts of its Great Hall of Washington History open.
The new exhibit, being assembled inside the Great Hall, is called “This is Native Land,” and it’s scheduled to open in summer.
‘This is Native Land’
The exhibit will focus on Indian boarding schools, forced removal and cultural genocide. Using artifacts, documentation and objects, it portrays Washington history from the indigenous perspective with an emphasis on tribal sovereignty, according to museum spokesperson Derek Nguyen.
“This is Native Land” is “not an exhibition of doom and gloom,” said co-curator Todd Clark (Wailaki).
The Great Hall’s main gallery hasn’t changed much since it opened in 1996, Nguyen said, although side galleries have been updated. The museum’s Clovis point spearheads, one of Washington’s most famous archaeological discoveries, will remain, along with displays on geologic history and other subjects.
On the toss list are the long house, trolley, shingle mill, pioneer store and electric tower. They were just props, not actual historical artifacts, Nguyen said. Artifacts and the history in the hall have been moved to other exhibits or stored in the museum’s archives.
“Nothing there is being lost except the props themselves,” he said.
The 3,000-square-foot display will portray Native Americans as strong and resilient and, “...contain stories of hope and even humor that can be seen throughout the exhibition, particularly in the art,” Clark said.
During the closure, the museum and Washington State Historical Society will continue supporting research requests and business operations.
Temporary Closure Schedule
▪ Jan. 2–12: Museum is open but for special exhibitions only.
▪ Jan. 13–Feb. 17: Entire museum is closed.
▪ Feb. 18: Museum reopens
▪ Summer 2025: ‘This is Native Land’ opens
This story was originally published January 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
