Artifact Education, LLC provides consultation and education services for organizations with the mission to preserve cultural history. We assist with the maintenance of collections and the development of exhibitions. We provide support in curation, research, writing, education, programming, and design.
Our specialization is the identification of Native American art and artifacts. We provide consultation for compliance with the NAGPRA Final Word act and assistance with compiling summaries of your collection’s objects of cultural patrimony.
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Artifact can help manage the digital documentation and archiving of collections including family heirlooms, fine art, and photographs. Digital restoration of historic photographs is available. Physical artifacts can be appropriately stored in archival materials for preservation. Click under “services” above to learn more.
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Our background in art history and museum education provides our clients with the development of curricula and programming that meets your state’s fine arts and social studies education standards. We champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, and hold cultural equity in the highest regard. Bringing awareness of history’s “absent narratives” is at the heart of what we do. Click under “services” above for more information.
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In 2024, the Secretary of the Interior, Deb Halland, issued the Final Rule on requirements for compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 43 CFR 10.9. Museums and federal agencies are required to compile a summary of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to submit to the manager of the National NAGPRA program. We can assist with the identification of the origin of many objects. Click under “services” above for more information.
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Artifact is a Native American- and woman-owned business. We value the cultural knowledge of those who bring their lived experience and authentic voice to our consulting practice.
We insist on ethical research practices and place high value on facts. Our determinations and decisions are all evidence-based.
Collections Management
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Digital Management
Artifact can conduct an inventory review and create an online database for your collection. Condition reports, provenance, images, and a variety of data and metadata can be stored in perpetuity.
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Research
Our art historians can conduct research and write your objects’ life stories. Our research is appropriate for display labels, insurance descriptions, and publications.
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Storage
Storing your precious objects is important for ensuring their longevity. Archival methods are used for storage of both three-dimensional and two-dimensional objects.
Education Services
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Curriculum
Our consultants have over 50 combined years creating lesson plans that comply with state and national social studies and art standards. We are eager to bring learning activities to visitors of collections that amplify the voices that have often been absent from traditional art and history education.
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Community Programs
We can help you develop and plan community programs for your guests and audiences. Our consultants are available to lead workshops and lectures and can connect you with experts in a variety of fields. We are also skilled at writing educational content for youth and adults to interact with as they visit your collections.
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Digital Projects
In order to expand your audience, it’s crucial to have digital content that can be accessed anytime, anywhere. We have experience in instructional technology and digital humanities and are able to create interactive programs based on your collections. We can train your staff to maintain and enhance the projects that we start.
NAGPRA Compliance
The NAGPRA laws that were written years ago have recently become enforced for museums and government agencies. At Artifact, it is our opinion that properly documenting objects and consulting the tribes of the ancestor artists is the right thing to do. Steve Tamayo is a regular consultant to numerous museums in the United States and Europe regarding plains Tribal art and artifacts. We can assist in proper identification of your collection and put you in contact with tribal preservation officers when requested so that you can continue to display sacred items in your collection.
For documents related to the NAGPRA Final Rule law, click here.
Susan Trinkle
Susan has been an arts educator and administrator for over 20 years. She holds a master’s degree in art history from the University of Notre Dame. Her recent areas of interest include historic garments and fashion design. As a college instructor, she has taught history of fashion, history of design, color theory, art history, origins of humanities, non-western interior design, history of architecture among other specific art history courses. As an administrator, she served as dean of the humanities and arts at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska, and served as the public art manager for the college. She currently teaches at Metropolitan Community College and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Steve Tamayo
Steve holds a BFA from Sinté Gleska University. He is a culture bearer and an enrolled member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. Steve is the founder of Bluebird Cultural Initiative, a non-profit cultural preservation organization in Omaha, Nebraska. His work with educators, youth, elders, and people in recovery aims to revitalize Native American culture through the arts. His partners include the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, Joslyn Art Museum, The Rockwell Museum, and numerous colleges and Universities. Steve has been creating, restoring, and conserving traditional Native American art and regalia for over 30 years. Steve is currently working on a publication about Lakota featherwork and is undergoing a fellowship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.
Let’s work together!
Contact us to discuss your project ideas.
