Plains Indian Museum Intern

Title: Plains Indian Museum Intern Department: Plains Indian Museum Position Reports To: Hunter Old Elk, Plains Indian Museum Interim Curator Status: Non-Exempt / Seasonal

Summary: The Plains Indian Museum intern will receive first-hand experience working with Indigenous collections from tribes of the Great Plains. The intern will play a critical role in supporting curatorial and registration staff on the care and research of collections. This opportunity will provide the intern with collections experience documenting and inventorying objects made of and relating to the American Bison, housed in the Plains Indian Museum collections.

Job Duties: • Learn collections management, object handling, and condition assessment from Plains Indian Museum Curator. • Inventory and photograph objects within PIM galleries and vaults made of buffalo materials, used in buffalo cultural practices, or pertaining to buffalo imagery. The data will be provided to registration as a spot inventory to support the Collection Management Policy. • Navigate Center of the West databases: ARGUS, online resources from the McCracken Research Library, and other federally supported databases/online collections. • Provide research to help curatorial staff develop an object list to be installed in the Plains Indian Museum, accompanying the Center’s major semi quincentennial exhibition in 2026. • Support the Education Department in hosting Plains Indian Museum summer artists in residence. • Document their journey once a week and across PIM social media sharing their summer experiences.

Competencies: • Knowledge of and respect for Plains Indian cultures, practices, and belief systems.

Supervisory Responsibilities: • None

Required Education and Experience: • Advanced undergraduate or graduate-level in the fields of Indigenous studies, Native American history, Museum Studies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge. • Technical skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, specifically Teams, Excel, and Word • Technical skills and proficiency in social media, specifically Facebook and Instagram. • Strong interpersonal, communication, and writing skills. • Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Other Duties: • Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

EEO Statement: • Buffalo Bill Center of the West provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, or service in the military. Equal employment opportunity applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leave of absence, compensation, and training.