Deana Dartt

Deana Dartt, PhD (Director) is Coastal Band, Chumash, and Mestiza, descending from the indigenous people of the Californias. Her scholarly and professional work strives to address the incongruities between public understanding, representation and true acknowledgement of Native peoples, their cultures, histories, and contemporary lives. She earned her MA and PhD from the University of Oregon and has held curatorial positions at the Burke Museum of Natural and Cultural History and the Portland Art Museum as well as teaching appointments at the University of Oregon, University of Washington, and Northwest Indian College. She recently completed a writing fellowship at the School for Advanced Research where she revised her book manuscript for publication titled: Subverting the Master Narrative: Museums, Power and Native Life in California. She is also the primary author of the AAM/SAR Standards for Museums with Native American Collections.

Upcoming Programs by Deana Dartt

Healing Colonial Legacies: Reconnecting with Personal & Land-Based Histories

Also With Heron Brae and Nancy Morris-Judd

August 31 - September 6, 2026

How can we build authentic relationships with ourselves, our communities, and the earth? This five-day workshop invites participants to reflect on past experiences and foster empathy, forgiveness, generosity, and balance in the present. Activities include cultural mapping, mindfulness, intention setting, an empathy journal, arts integration, and discussions rooted in applied decolonization.