The Toledo Museum of Art is welcoming its latest exhibition, Return to Turtle Island: Indigenous Nation-Building in the Eighteenth Century, as a way to honor a collection of art that has never been in public view.
“The title itself is combining the name that Indigenous people have for North America, which is Turtle Island,” explained Johanna Minich, the consulting curator of Native American art for the TMA. “Return to Turtle Island is the overarching concept for the exhibition, because it is one about a journey that these objects have taken as ambassadors of Turtle Island.”
These objects were seen as ambassadors by their makers since they were sent elsewhere in the world to share the history and culture of the people that created them, she said, acting as “living embodiments” of those communities. The collection includes quillwork, beadwork, moose hair embroidery, and birchbark art forms.
“These were created and traded during a time where these very early relationships were being formed between Europeans that were coming over from predominantly France and England and settling throughout the Great Lakes area,” Minich said. “They were conducting these kinds of political negotiations in a sense. … They really viewed Indigenous communities as sovereign nations and treated them as such.”
Many of these objects — like headdresses, a finger-woven sash, garter pendants, and more — would have been worn in these types of diplomatic exchanges, she explained, noting that they were mostly worn by men, but mainly created by women.
The objects were collected in the 18th century by a Scotsman named Alexander Farquharson, Minich explained. He sent the art back to his home in Scotland where it lived until 2006. The collection was initially purchased by a private collector before the TMA acquired the work in 2023.
“One of the stipulations of the [Farquharson] family was that it stay intact as a collection,” the curator said. “We were really fortunate to be able to be given the opportunity to have these objects become part of our permanent collection.”
The original collection has 24 pieces, Minich said, with the exhibition showcasing the pristine condition of these objects along with some additional pieces outside of the collection, like a 19th century landscape painting of the Scottish Highlands.
“We also had a piece of contemporary Indigenous art commissioned,” said Marissa Stevenson, associate conservator of textile based collections at the TMA, which was just named Best Art Museum in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for 2025 on Wednesday.
Artist Leonard Harmon was commissioned to make a traditional quilled woodland tall bonnet for the exhibition as a way to represent modern Indigenous regalia.
The museum also collaborated with the Great Lakes Research Alliance (GRASAC) at the University of Toronto, Stevenson said, to ensure proper display and conservation of the objects.
The GRASAC group came to view and bless the objects and had some private time with the collection as well, she said.
“This collaboration with GRASAC ensures that the legacy of these objects is preserved with the utmost respect,” Minich said in a news release “By working with descendants of their makers, we honor the original purpose of these works: sharing knowledge and strengthening relationships.”
Stevenson noted that this exhibition is a more intimate experience for guests, with hope that the viewers can form a more personal connection with the pieces.
"It's really great for visitors to see works by Indigenous Americans in this context, particularly objects of this age,” she added. “This exhibition is so incredibly special because the objects are returning home.”
The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday and runs through June 29. Brian Dreier, a registered Cherokee citizen, will be leading a spiritual prayer and blessing the exhibition before the doors open on Saturday at 11:15 a.m.
Guided tours of the collection led by Minich are also set for Saturday at four separate times starting at 11:30 a.m. To register for guided tours and learn more about the exhibition, visit toledomuseum.org.
First Published February 27, 2025, 12:29 p.m.
