The First Americans Museum is NOT the authority on the 39 First American Nations in Oklahoma today.
“We encourage everyone to visit their cultural centers, tribal headquarters and museums to learn more about the unique origins, histories, beliefs and lifeways of each tribe,” Executive Director and CEO Dr. Kelli Mosteller said.
FAM opened on Sept. 18, 2021. It was a dream conjured up by Natives across Oklahoma and brought to life by legislation from Senator Enoch Kelly Haney in 1994, Mosteller said.
Mosteller grew up in Comanche in southern Oklahoma and is a member of the Potawatomi tribe.
“My childhood was blessed with immersion in Potawatomi history, art and culture,” she said.
After earning an undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University, Mosteller headed to the University of Texas at Austin for her master’s and Ph.D. in American history, with a focus on Indigenous studies. She spent 12 years serving her Nation as the executive director of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center in Shawnee.
During that time she also worked as Tribal Historic Preservation officer, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act coordinator and gaming commissioner for CPN.
She has enjoyed some special nieces and nephews and other young people in her life.
“I am honored to serve as auntie for the eagles at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Eagle Aviary (meaning I am their legal guardian should something happen to their current caretakers) and as a mentor for Potawatomi youth,” Mosteller said.
Before joining First Americans Museum, she was executive director of the Harvard University Native American Program, where she said she worked closely with students, faculty and staff to foster the well-being of Indigenous peoples at the university and beyond.
First Americans Museum is a unique landmark cultural institution representing all 39 tribes in Oklahoma today.
“So many people have worked hard for so many years to make the dream a reality and it all came to fruition,” Mosteller said. “I have worked on this dream for several years in different capacities and it is an incredible honor to serve all the 39 distinct First American Nations that now call Oklahoma home.
“We are as diverse culturally and linguistically as the nations of Europe, and FAM has the privilege of sharing these collective histories and celebrating the bright future ahead.”
The special work FAM is accomplishing includes working to reunite items in the “WINIKO “exhibitions with the families and tribes from which they originated, she said.
The “WINIKO” exhibit features pieces representing each of the 39 Nations in Oklahoma today, selected from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian collection, which were purchased over 100 years ago in Oklahoma by collectors who sought to “preserve” artifacts from “vanishing” Native Americans.
“Winiko is the Caddo word for everything on earth, in the universe and beyond,” Mosteller said. “This term reflects the Native belief that our cultural materials hold the spiritual essence of their makers and those who wore or used them.”
Native American boarding schools attempted to strip children of their Native culture. As the great-granddaughter of a boarding school survivor, Mosteller said, “It is incredibly poignant that I was raised in my culture, allowed to study it in a higher education setting and to continually work within Native spaces.
“I am the product of centuries of strong Potawatomi people who fought to keep our lifeways alive, and institutions like First Americans Museum and the Potawatomi Cultural Heritage Center show their victory.”
The First Americans Museum is located at 659 American Indian Blvd., Oklahoma City. For more information, visit famok.org.