First Americans Museum

In September 2022, the First Americans Museum was opened in Oklahoma, which is home to more Native Americans than any other state. This was the first museum to have given indigenous Native Americans the opportunity to control the narrative on their story and provide a rich, even-keeled version of their complicated, contested history.

The building itself honours the rhythm of the seasons, outdoor life, the significance of the sun and the importance of dance. The path through the impressive building runs east to west, a nod to history and the tribes represented here. Its core exhibition, Okla Homma, represents more than ten years of consultation with each of the 39 tribes in Oklahoma today. Curated by an all-native team, this exhibit engages visitors through sight, sound and touch via its featured works of Native American art, interactive media and film.

Click Netherfield was commissioned to help realise Ralph Appelbaum Associates’ vision for the Smithsonian Galleries within the museum, delivering a series of large-scale circular showcases and faceted wall displays developed around strong symbolic and architectural forms. 

One of the principal technical challenges throughout the project was achieving stringent Smithsonian conservation performance requirements within large circular showcase systems incorporating continuous glazed access elevations and minimal visible structure. The combination of large-diameter geometries, full-height glazed doors and strict environmental requirements required extensive structural and conservation-led engineering development throughout the project lifecycle.