‘THE IRONY’

Museum Sorry It Asked Indigenous Woman to Ditch Baby Carrier

She was wearing a traditional, woven baby carrier—at a Native American art exhibit.

In a case of life definitely not imitating art, a Portland museum would not let an indigenous woman into an exhibit of Native American art while she was wearing a traditional baby carrier. “The Portland Art Museum—where being Indigenous is cool as long (as) you are part of the exhibit and not actually practicing your culture,” the woman wrote on social media with a photo of herself and her child. “The irony: we were at an Indigenous art exhibit. Racism is alive and well in these walls.” Now the museum is admitting its rigid enforcement of a no-backpacks policy was a mistake. “We deeply apologize for causing harm,” it wrote on Facebook. “We are heartbroken that you and your family had a negative experience at the museum, especially in an exhibition celebrating Native American art.”