conventional consultation, which gives museums the opportunity to foster more Native

partnerships. Because the wiki brings a digital replica of the objects to the community, it

increases access to the objects, without causing additional object deterioration through

repeated handling of the materials. This approach to museum-Native collaboration

allows the museum to embrace its role as facilitator by sharing Native voices with its

museum visitors and audiences on the web.

       In the case of my project, the public benefits from the three end-user applications

that the wiki information contributes to: the registrar's database, the museum's public

collections database, and the multi-institutional Southeastern Native American

database. The wiki information added to the registrar's database will assist researchers

with the sorting of collections information, and the wiki contributions will provide

valuable primary source material for their collections research. On the museum website,

the public can gain a more comprehensive understanding of Native cultures by

accessing Tribal members' input. The Southeastern Native American database will offer

both Native and non-Native scholars access to Native collections information from

multiple museum repositories. The wiki could also potentially add Native input to be

applied to public programs and future exhibits. Consequently, the wiki provides

collections information that can benefit the public for generations.

       Overall, the wiki model provides a valuable supplemental tool for museums that

seek to include Native input in their collections records, but which have not previously

been able to initiate a conventional collections consultation. This additional platform for

building partnerships is important because it may allow museums to pursue

collaborative goals with limited resources. The wiki may also provide valuable resources