Southwest Museum Report: The Autry Makes Its Case

Tuesday's saw a long line of Highland Park and Mount Washington residents express their concerns over the Autry National Center's proposal to use $6.9 million in California’s Prop. 84 Nature Education Facilities (NEF) Program funds to renovate and expand their Griffith Park museum space.

Among the several people to defend the merits of the project was Marshall McKay, the chairman of the Autry's board of trustees and the chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.

Below is a transcription of McKay's comments made during yesterday's city council meeting.

Here are the facts about the project funded by the $6.6 million in  [California’s Prop. 84] Nature Education Facilities (NEF) Program, designed to support the significant projects which advance the environmental education for this state. This is one of the competitive grants that our application was fairly considered as one of the applicants. Our application was endorsed in writing by the state legislators Carol Liu (D-La Cañada-Flintridge), Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), and speaker [Mike] Perez (D-Los Angeles). Our project takes places entirely within the existing footprint of the Autry building in Griffith Park, provides for the renovation and re-installation of two existing galleries and one existing garden as well as work on restrooms and hallways. 

This project will highlight history and culture of native peoples and include two dedicated California galleries, with teaching gardens highlighting the ecosystems people lived in for generations as stewards of the land and its resources.

This project will will provide the 50,000 children from LAUSD who come to the Autry every year the opportunity to learn about my people, about our shared history and about how native vision has integrated indigenous values, life ways and natural environments. This project also will showcase less than one percent of the objects of the 's collection; many of these artifacts have never had public display.

The Autry is proud to be selected among other Los Angeles institutions including the Natural History Museum and the California Science Center to receive these funds to bring new educational opportunities to Los Angeles, its children and its visitors, enabling all of us to learn about our shared history and shared opportunity to preserve our fragile natural resources.