collections is important because it can help overcome longstanding barriers between

Native peoples and the artifacts that embody their heritage.

      The project's second goal is to increase the digital access for both Native and

non-Native researchers, because providing online access to Native American objects is

an important step in maintaining the museum's relevance to society. Museums prove

their relevance by providing services that meet the public demand. Studies show that

upcoming generations view technology and the internet as the central conduit for their

research needs; therefore, museums can demonstrate the effectiveness of their

collections information by making it available in the medium with which the public is

most connected (Smithsonian 2007).

Museums and Community Co-Design

      Nina Simon, an active voice in the museum field, advocates for the application of

technology in museums with the goal of engaging the public in active participation in

informal learning. Simon writes her blog, Museum 2.0 to more than 5000 subscribers

(www.museumtwo.blogspot.com). Museum 2.0 encourages museums to question their

institutional methods and to embrace the tenets of Web 2.0. Simon proposes that

museums use a strategy she calls community co-design in program and exhibition

development. This strategy is a grass roots approach that embraces the perspectives,

ideas, ingenuity, and skills of the community it serves with the goal of producing

programs and exhibitions of a more inclusive and perhaps more authentic nature

(Simon 2009). The concept of community co-design is an exciting prospect because it

takes the standard process of collaboration and expands the perimeters of involvement.

Community co-design often challenges members of the public to perform real research,

and contribute to museum projects in a meaningful way. The work is viewed as