I walked into the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art’s latest exhibition with a limited perspective of “The West.” My only mental images were the John Wayne movies my grandfather played on the TV all the time when I was growing up.
The exhibit, which runs through Aug. 4, quickly dispelled that notion and provided a much more complex view of the region’s history — more than I could ever get from an old Western movie.
I’m no stranger to museums; I’ve always been a huge history nerd and will gladly go on deep-dives into topics ranging from the Romanov family to early Quaker abolitionists in America. Although, until this particular visit to the Eiteljorg — and admittedly, thanks to this story assignment — I can’t say I’ve ever given much thought to how a museum exhibit or gallery is designed to tell a story.
From the artwork included to immerse visitors into the Old West to QR code-accessible soundscapes to how the timeline of events is utilized in the available space, “Religion and the American West” immerses visitors into the West at various points in history.
Exploring the exhibit, I wondered about the conscious decisions that are made when it comes to incorporating art to weave together a historical narrative.
“I think art and history have a lot of similarities in that they often revolve around stories and the reality of human life,” said Jessica Nelson, who helped curate the exhibit.
There was religious freedom … for some
The West in this context includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas and western Texas. The exhibition walks guests through the creation of the Erie Canal and the Transcontinental Railroad, both of which brought many cultural changes to the region, including new religions.
Native American religions — namely those practiced among the Sioux — as well as Protestantism, Catholicism, Mormonism, Buddhism, Daoism and Judaism were all practiced in the American West.
The history of these religions and their impacts on the West were displayed using a blend of media. In one section, a timeline of Mormon history is shown through a series of animated panels. In a different gallery room, a QR code allows visitors to follow the journey of Clara Brown, who lived most of her life enslaved and relied on her faith to help her through the horrors of slavery. In that same room, a life-size figure of Brown sits on a rocking chair as an elderly person to show visitors that Brown lived a long life.
An intricate diorama depicts a minyan, which is a quorum of 10 adults, needed to conduct certain religious services in Judaism.
This artwork helped fellow exhibit visitor Megan Lachey take in the information. A former history major, she said the paintings, dioramas and artistic renderings in the exhibition kept her engaged.
“It’s just fascinating, because you’re not just reading, you’re getting a real picture of … actual American history,” Lachey said.
Beyond the history of these religions, art also showcased the discrimination many religious sects faced. A print of “The Three Troublesome Children,” an 1882 political cartoon painting Chinese immigrants, Native Americans and “Mormons” to be a thorn in the side of America, highlighted lack of acceptance at the time. While the religious landscape was diverse in the West, only Protestants seemed to enjoy the full benefit of religious liberty.
As a Protestant in theory (but not so much in practice), I can’t say I was surprised to learn about Protestant-led efforts — aided at times by the federal government — to rid the West of religious practices they deemed dangerous to their way of life or to American prosperity as a whole.
Having it all laid out in front of me, however, I was taken aback by the sheer scale of the effort — including government crackdowns on Sioux sun dance rituals and the outlawing of polygamy as a direct attack on members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The exhibit not only provides information and context on different religious groups in the region, it forces visitors to challenge their views on what religious liberty means and what it has historically looked like in the United States.
That’s the overarching goal of the exhibition, according to Nelson.
“What I hope it will do is provide people with both mirrors and windows into the lives of other people,” Nelson said. “They will likely see their own beliefs and perspectives mirrored and see perspectives they hadn’t heard before.”