Just weeks after settling in as executive director of the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Dr. Kelli Mosteller is enjoying being home.
“It feels good to be home. I am still adjusting back to the heat, but I’m excited to be back with friends and family. I like being able to get Dr. Pepper in every restaurant. I really missed fried catfish,” she laughed.
Most recently, Mosteller was the executive director of the Harvard University Native American Program since 2022. Previously, she was the executive director of the CPN Cultural Heritage Center for 11 years.
On Sept. 3, 2024, Mosteller replaced FAM Executive Director James Pepper Henry, who stepped down in March 2023. Henry is now the museum’s director emeritus, with a focus on fundraising and special projects.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Mosteller to lead FAM into its next chapter,” said Gregg Wadley, chair of the FAM board of directors, in a July statement announcing the appointment. “Her extensive experience in Indigenous cultural preservation, museum management and community engagement makes her ideally suited to build on FAM’s success and further our mission.”
Mosteller, a member of the Ogee and Weld families, is concentrating on getting to know the FAM staff and learning as much as she can about the facility’s operations.
“It’s a lot of information to take in and process. There are some deadlines that are looming, but it’s been really good. The staff is phenomenal, and it’s been everything I hoped it would be and more,” she said.
She is grateful that the FAM staff has helped her settle into her new routine.
“I’ve been able to go to lunch with almost every staff member to just get to know them. They’re being intentional about making sure that I’m getting the chance to get acclimated,” she said. “They’ve been good about balancing the need to give me new information, but also let me meet people and just get to know them a little bit.”
Busy months ahead
Mosteller plans to hit the ground running because the next several months are going to be busy, she said. The OKANA Resort next door is expected to open in the spring of 2025 and FAM has new features slated to open next summer as well.
“We have Indigenous Peoples’ Day and this is a huge event of around 3,000 people who come in for that. We’re really looking forward to it, but we also want to make sure that we’re prepared to give everybody the best experience we can,” she said. “Now that school’s back in session, we have our school groups coming through again. Fall brings a whole other sort of audience and pace to the museum.”
Adjacent to FAM’s grounds, the Chickasaw Nation’s OKANA Resort will include a 100,000 square foot indoor waterpark, 404-room, 11-story hotel, a 12,000 square foot family entertainment center, 39,000 square foot conference center and 36,000 square foot retail space and dining options.
“We have OKANA opening in late winter or early spring, I think sometime in February or March. We’re obviously excited about our partnership with them. We have regular meetings with the OKANA team to make sure that we’re all in the loop and know what each other is doing and how to make it the best experience it can be,” Mosteller said.
Now that fundraising for the museum’s Family Discovery Center is complete, fabrication of the exhibit’s features is next. FAM is planning for its long-awaited opening in the summer of 2025.
“We’re working on the Family Discovery Center, which is the children’s exhibit. There’s a lot of work that goes into it. The action is happening behind the scenes and it’s really taking a lot of focus. And that’s the part of it that’s at the critical stage where it needs a lot of attention,” she said.
The Family Discovery Center will include a fully illustrated, multi-plane immersive world, according to FAM’s website, where day turns into night and guests can experience all four seasons. Multiple generations will be able to learn about respect, resilience and the importance of stewardship.
Showcasing tribal history
FAM has become a center where Oklahoma’s 39 tribal Nations can showcase their cultures and history. The diversity of each Nation is something Mosteller calls “our superpower” and Mosteller is looking forward to celebrating that fact.
“This museum really is committed to representing and being a place for all 39 of the tribes in Oklahoma,” she said.
In November, the museum is hosting a veteran’s event. FAM officials invite veterans from all branches to share their stories of service. Historically, Native Americans have volunteered for military service more than any other demographic group in the United States.
“They can come in and tell their story and we’ll help them scan any of their documents, if they have any letters home that they wrote during their time of service, or if they have any official documents they want scanned. We’ll help process that for them and send them home with the originals and a digital copy. We’ll take a photo and record their story,” Mosteller said.
She is happy to be home and to help educate FAM’s visitors about the unique tribal cultures and histories in Oklahoma. It is a community unique among other regions in the United States, Mosteller said.
“In New England they have a different history and intertribal politics, and the nature of the tribal community is so different than here, where we have southeastern tribes, we have woodland tribes, we have plains tribes, we have tribes who ranged farther west,” she said. “To have all of those really unique, distinct cultures here in the same state calling Oklahoma home, it’s a really unique opportunity to celebrate all of our cultures, but also our shared history.”
For more information about the First Americans Museum, visit famok.org.