Last updated: 7/25/2016
Exeter, Rhode Island
Address
390 A Summit Road
Exeter, RI 02822

Admissions

Adults: $5
Seniors: $4
Children : $3
Children under 5: Free

Museum Type(s)

Staff

Loren Spears
phone: 401-491-9063
Description
INDIGENOUS HISTORY, CULTURE, ARTS, AND MOTHER EARTH...

Rhode Island's only museum entirely dedicated to telling the story of the state's Indigenous Peoples. Tomaquag Museum has a unique collection of over 20,000 cultural objects along with hundreds of thousands of pieces of archival materials focusing on the Native peoples of New England and Rhode Island. The Museum is well-respected among Rhode Island's and New England's cultural museums and is visited each year by travelers from across the United States and throughout the world.

Mission

The Mission of Tomaquag Museum is to educate the public and promote thoughtful dialogue regarding Indigenous history, culture, arts, and Mother Earth and connect to Native issues of today.

History

Tomaquag Museum was established over 50 years ago by Eva Butler an anthropologist with the guidance of the late Princess Red Wing (Narragansett/ Wampanoag) and is Rhode Island's only museum entirely dedicated to telling the story of the state's Indigenous Peoples. Tomaquag, located in historic Arcadia Village in Exeter since the early 70?s, is also the only Rhode Island museum operated by Native people. It originated in Tomaquag Valley, a hamlet inside the village of Ashaway in the town of Hopkinton, RI.

Research Collections

We offer a video podcast on our website which researchers may find useful for some content. The videos can be watched directly on our website, or the podcast can be subscribed to (for free) using the podcast app on any apple iPhone or iPad or also via android tablet or phone.

Researchers may also contact us with their needs, and we can provide resources for Native American book authors and other information.

We also have content available for sale through our online store: http://www.tomaquagmuseum.org/store/

Educational Programs
CHILDREN'S HOUR

Children's Hour is our free, weekly program on Thursdays from 9am to 10am that will teach the history and culture of the Narragansett Tribal Nation through music, dance, and storytelling.

Children's Hour targets preschool and homeschoolers during the school year and the families during school vacation. It will be an intergenerational experience with parent, grandparents, or other caregivers participating with infants to middle schoolers in the mix.

Facilities

We feature one exhibit space, a small building for workshops and meetings, and outdoor yard for cultural programs and lectures. Please see our website for details, or call us at 401-491-9063

Governance
Tomaquag Museum's Core Values:

Tomaquag Museum's Core Values are rooted in our Indigenous beliefs. These beliefs drive our organization's strategy and decisions and contribute in a definitive manner to its success. The very culture of the organization is determined by our traditional values and philosophy. These values are the ideals and inspiration that guide the decisions and actions taken by Tomaquag Museum and by its individual employees. As our organization continues to grow and develop it is recognized that these values will guide us into the future.

Respect: Fostering trust, collaboration, appreciation, diversity, honor, spirit path

Leadership: Promoting integrity, initiative, high standards, self-motivation, inner journey

Knowledge: Promoting curiosity, discovery, teaching, life-long learning, empowerment. Encouraging creativity, rigorous inquiry, analysis, documentation, communication, and upholding ethical standards and Indigenous principles

Responsibility: Encouraging legal, ethical and fiscal responsibility; stewardship, accountability, organizational and cultural continuity

Publications

Tomaquag Museum does publish a monthly newsletter that is distributed by E-mail. To receive our free newsletter, please visit http://www.tomaquagmuseum.org, and sign up for our mailing list.

Services

We offer an on-site gift shop of Native American handmade crafts, books,

Group Tours & Specialty Programs, are by Appointment 6 Days A Week, we book year round!

Gift Shop
Online Gift Shop
Group Tours
ADA

Tomaquag Museum does comply with the ADA. We do have wheelchair ramp int our main entrance, and our exhibit space is all one floor. Exhibits are accessible by wheelchair or walker. If there are special needs, we suggest that you call in ahead to arrange for special accommodations.

Wheelchair Accessible
Restrooms
Exhibitions
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DISCLAIMER
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

Georgia Association of Museums 2025 Conference

February 5 - 7, 2025

Milledgeville, Georgia

Georgia Association of Museums 2025 Conference

Wednesday, February 5 - Friday, February 7, 2025

Ina Dillard Russell Library Georgia College & State University

Milledgeville, Georgia

Hosted by: Georgia Association of Museums

The Whole Story Is The Meanin

“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”― Flannery O'Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Pros

Join us in Milledgeville, Georgia, for the annual Georgia Association of Museums conference as we explore the profound wisdom of Milledgeville author Flannery O'Connor’s words. In a world where narratives intersect and perspectives diverge, this theme invites proposals that delve into the essence of storytelling within museums and cultural institutions. Our work in the museum field requires us to look at stories from as many angles and perspectives as possible so that we might do our best to tell the “whole story.

Through thought-provoking discussions, interactive workshops, and engaging presentations, we will uncover the layers of meaning embedded within every artifact, exhibition, and historical account. Just as O’Connor masterfully crafted narratives that resonate with universal truths, museums hold the power to illuminate the whole story behind many objects, artworks, and cultural phenomena

We will examine how museums can embrace inclusivity, diversity, and authenticity in their storytelling practices. By acknowledging multiple perspectives and amplifying marginalized voices, we can enrich our understanding of the past and present, fostering empathy and connection within our communities.

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

February 17 - 19, 2025

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

Monday, February 17 - Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Hosted by: Small Museum Association

The annual SMA conference attracts more than 300 museum professionals, board members, and volunteers from a wide variety of small museums. They attend sessions on topics ranging from collections and education to staffing and board issues.

We offer a large Museum Resource Hall and plenty of informal networking opportunities for you to talk with (and get ideas from!) other small museum professionals and volunteers

Theme for 2025: Make It Happen!!!

Is there an exhibit, program, or fundraiser that you've been talking about doing for years? Do you feel stuck because of procrastination, lack of board support, or insufficient funds? It's time to take action

At SMA 2025, small museum professionals will share their tips and tricks of how they made it happen!

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

February 18 - 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

Tuesday, February 18 - Saturday, February 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

Hosted by: California Association of Museums

CAM is hard at work planning for the 2025 conference, set to take place from February 18–22, 2025 in San Francisco. We look forward to highlighting best practices and innovative ideas from California's museum community

The California Association of Museums is excited to continue offering in-person programming for 2025. We will not be requiring proof of COVID vaccination/s, but highly encourage vaccination and boosters. For the health and safety of our colleagues, masks are also encouraged (but not required). Capacity and spaces will be thoughtfully considered in the planning of this event.

For more information, please email programs@calmuseums.org.

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

Saturday, March 15 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Inn at Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Hosted by: Virginia Association of Museums

2025 Conference Theme: Looking Back to the Future For the past several years, many museums have been deeply involved in planning programs and events to observe the 250th birthday of the United States of America. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, this anniversary also forces us as a society to reckon with ongoing inequities and challenges within the US that go back to its inception. As museums ask their audiences to look to the past to understand the present and shape a better future, perhaps now is a good moment in time for Virginia’s museum community to take pause and look back at its own history. We are excited to see you in Blacksburg in March 2025 as we take a moment in our hectic schedules to take pause and visit our diverse pasts. Let’s uncover and share our histories to build a more resilient Virginia museum community.

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

September 10 - 13, 2025

Cincinnati, Ohio

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

Wednesday, September 10 - Saturday, September 13, 2025

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

Hosted by: American Association for State and Local History

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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