Chapter 2 Infinitely Obscure Lives
Depictions of Women at a US Historic Site
In: Feminist Critique and the MuseumSearch for other papers by Micki Voelkel in
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Search for other papers by Shelli Henehan in
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Abstract
The Fort Smith National Historic Site is a heritage tourism site and national park devoted to the history of the frontier American West from 1817 to 1896. Located in Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA, the site preserves the history of the city’s beginning as a US Army outpost and features exhibits about outlaws and US marshals, the Trail of Tears, and the courthouse and gallows of “hanging judge” Isaac C. Parker. In recent years the site has included exhibits which emphasise the contributions of African American and Native American deputy marshals as well as exhibits focusing on Native American history. The stories of women of all races, however, remain largely untold. In this qualitative photo-elicitation study, the researchers have developed a tool for a “feminist hack” of the historic site to be used with pre-service educators. Participants were led through a series of questions framing the exhibits in terms of women’s stories – whose stories are told and whose stories need to be told. Then participants were asked to take photos of exhibits that were meaningful to them and to write a personal response to each photo. The resulting photos and written responses were analysed thematically, suggesting that women were invisible, unnamed, and presented only in relation to men.