Lac du Flambeau, WI
Conservation and Preparation of Government Boarding School Era Clothing for Lac du Flambeau Tribal Historic Preservation Exhibit
From 1895 to 1932, the Government Boarding School within the Lac du Flambeau reservation attempted to assimilate Native American children into mainstream America by denying these children contact with their parents, traditional language and culture. It was a brutal policy from which many families and Tribal Nations have barely recovered. The Lac du Flambeau Historic Boys’ dormitory, in particular, reflects this policy. Beginning in 2009, the building underwent a 5-year historic restoration. Many artifacts from the school era were discovered behind the walls and beneath the floors of the building, including portions of a boy’s uniform. The clothing had probably been used to block holes, preventing weather and insects from coming into the building. It was found behind false walls, under floor boards and in the basement of the building, where it had lain for 80 years.
The Phase 1 grant allowed us to have the most representative pieces (jacket, vest, trousers, cap, shoes, mittens and belt) professionally conserved by the Midwest Art Conservation Center (MACC) in Minneapolis. The MACC removed the remains of insects, mold and dirt with special care. The outcome of the conservation was better than we could have hoped.
Through this project, we learned that clothing from the Boarding School Era is rare. The fact that we have pieces of a whole uniform is rarer still. Exhibiting the clothing, along with other artifacts found in the building, is a visible reminder of the Boarding School Era, which still has a tremendous influence in shaping the identity of the Lac du Flambeau community today.
The clothing is now on display in specially designed exhibit cases in the Historic Boys Dormitory. The exhibit opened on July 7, 2016. Since the building is an attraction for community members and their guests as well as tourists, the THPO staff offers tours throughout the day. The clothing exhibit has become the highlight of the tours. We also encourage groups who use our conference room to take a tour, or visit the exhibit room at their leisure.
The Tribe contributed over $14,500 of the total cost of the clothing conservation, specially designed exhibit cases, special film to filter light from the windows, and staff time to place the film, and clean and prepare the exhibit cases.
The exhibit room is an ongoing project. The cases, including those with the clothing, are part of a larger “Legacy of Survival” project. The Legacy project promotes heritage tourism, general education, youth and elder engagement in preservation, and installation of exhibits and signage throughout the Boarding School Complex corridor located in the heart of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation.
