Polly Olsen heads the Decolonization/DEAI team at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, which is located on the University of Washington campus. Her primary objective is to enhance people’s lived experiences by cultivating genuine, mutually beneficial, and cooperative relationships within and without the museum. Polly’s approach to community building has played a pivotal role in the museum’s decolonization efforts.
Olsen has worked for the University of Washington for almost 20 years. She began as an advisor to the wɝɫ̝bʔaltxʷ project and worked at the Native American Centre of Excellence and Indigenous Wellness Research Institute at the School of Medicine. In 2017, Olsen started her role as the Burke Museum Tribal Liaison. She joined the Burke Museum as its first-ever Tribal Liaison at a pivotal moment when the museum was creating exhibits and getting ready to establish a new location that aims to foster a more transparent, honest, and approachable relationship with Indigenous communities.
In the areas of programme development, education, health, and administration, Olsen is a leader in cultural diversity training. Her knowledge of the reciprocal learning that occurs between traditional and western institutions enables her to promote institutional aims and tribal communities’ resilience at the same time. As she furthers the goals of the Burke Museum, she instils respect for the multiplicity of Indigenous cultures and methods of knowing and is constantly listening.
Olsen advocates equity, inclusion, and cultural sensitivity in her work. Since she started at the Burke, she has developed alliances and expanded understanding so that inclusive practises become woven into the institution’s fabric. This work is exemplified by the Native land acknowledgement she created with local tribes which is shown at museum entrances, on its website, and uttered at every meeting and gathering. This project included six months of consulting with dozens of tribes and individuals.