3 CNMI reps hone skills on historic preservation

With the goal of building local capacity to preserve the CNMI’s indigenous history, three CNMI representatives have been selected to attend a historic preservation convention in Hawaii and they are now past their second week of in-person training since the start of the institute on July 5 2022.

The three selected representatives from the CNMI—NMI Museum docent Archie Ajoste, Joeten Kiyu Public Library’s director Erlinda Naputi, and Commonwealth Council of Arts and Culture’s Tyler Warwick—are finishing off a second week of the “Weaving a Net(work) of Care for Oceanic Collections” in-person program at the Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Museum Institute in Hawaii that Ajoste described as “exceptionally enlightening.”

Along with learning the techniques used in other museums, Ajoste noted that he has had many interactive moments with other colleagues and international curators. He said that being in Hawaii for the training has helped him to more deeply understand the reason behind why he and other historic preservers do what they do, and how it affects their community and the generations to come.

He said that any Pacific islander—whether working in museums, libraries, archives, conservations, or collections—“can do the job no matter the age, race, and ethnicity” they may belong to.

Naputi told Saipan Tribune that she has learned a lot. She spoke of the monthlong instructional and hands-on learning activity, which included visits to the Bishop Museum, the Mission House, Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, Oilani Palace, and the Hawai’i State Art Museum.

When asked on her thoughts on the future of NMI’s preservation of culture and artifacts post-training, Naputi responded “I can share that with all the training that we are learning, we can help each other take better care of our artifacts and preserve our culture, language, and local history. Also, listening to all our special guests share their experiences, professional or personal, is very inspiring.”

The ‘Weaving a Net(work) of Care: A Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Museum Institute’ officially began on Jan. 24, 2022 as virtual seminars and continued twice every month until July 5, 2022, when the in-person training began in Honolulu. July 29, 2022, will be the final day of the monthlong convention.

Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the NHPIMI is providing early to mid-career professional development to 20 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders working in museums and cultural heritage centers in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, including Hawaiʻi, Guam, American Samoa, the CNMI, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau.