In his September 2019 State of Indiana University at the Bicentennial speech, IU President Michael A. McRobbie announced the creation of this new museum as part of the university’s ongoing effort to care for its many precious collections and preserve the knowledge they hold.

The new museum will marry the rich collections of the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology and the Mathers Museum of World Cultures to create a world-class museum whose collections and research resources, dynamic exhibits, engaging programming, and outreach efforts will serve IU’s education and research missions and make it a leading destination for scholars, students, and the public.

The museum will open after extensive renovation of the building currently housing the Mathers Museum of World Cultures and Glenn Black Laboratory at 416 N. Indiana Avenue on the IU Bloomington campus.

IUMAA Land Acknowledgment

The Indiana University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology wishes to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region and recognize that Indiana University Bloomington was built on Indigenous homelands. We recognize the Miami, Shawnee, Potawatomi, and Delaware people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land. We honor and respect Indigenous people and their many descendants who traversed or resided in this place and who fashioned and used objects that repose in this museum. The museum is committed to participating and collaborating with Indigenous partners on the co-creation of knowledge, scholarship, and education into the future.