In a rare gathering of Wyoming dignitaries in Jackson Hole, Gov. Mark Gordon, Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso promoted the future construction of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum on Monday.
It’s the nation’s first museum dedicated to American women’s history.
The Jackson Hole event was an apolitical celebration with attendees from across the political spectrum. It was cohosted by the Louisa Swain Foundation, aiming to keep Wyoming women’s history alive.
It comes as the Trump administration dismantles “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives, moves that have impacted the Smithsonian. In January, the institution eliminated its “office of diversity” following an executive order from President Trump that described DEI as “illegal and immoral.” This week, national outlets are reporting that the Smithsonian will restore an exhibit of President Trump’s impeachments after temporary removal, which it said was a simple aesthetic standards issue, not due to outside pressure.
Congress approved the museum in 2020 but it has not yet secured a location. Though the opening of the Washington D.C. museum is still about 10 years away, the Smithsonian needs another round of Congressional approval for its preferred site on the National Mall.
Monday’s bipartisan event steered clear of branding women’s history as a political issue. Mostly, speakers celebrated Wyoming’s rich history as a first for many women, including the nation’s first female jurors, bailiff, justice of the peace and all-female town council.
Under a tent outside the Jackson Hole Classical Academy, Lummis told the story of Laramie’s Louisa Swain, the first woman in the U.S. to vote in a general election after the repeal of women’s suffrage.
“That wasn’t granted,” said Lummis, a Republican and Wyoming’s first female senator. “It was recognized as a right that we always should have.”
Wyoming paved the way for women’s suffrage for more reasons than just equality ideals, according to Tom Rea of WyoHistory. Those likely included good publicity for more settlers, balancing the dismal gender ratio, raising birthrate, and building a partisan base to keep power with the party in charge.
Lummis is cosponsoring legislation for the museum’s construction with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat.
Contemporary controversy around women’s recognition came only briefly, during a question-and-answer segment with historian and museum advisory council member Catherine Allgor.
Jacksonite and conservative political donor Nancy Donovan asked if the museum would define the word “woman” in its halls.
Allgor said the answer would have to wait.
“I’ll be honest with you, it’s a changing world and that’s a great question and we don’t have an answer for it,” she said.
One day, Allgor said, she hopes a women’s history museum is not needed. Or a history museum for African-Americans or Native Americans, she added. But a day of equal representation in history is not here yet, she said.
“Yes, some day, when we are all equal and we enjoy equal rights, maybe things will be different. It is just that not that day,” she said.
Trump has supported the museum.
“If it’s for women, it better be big and beautiful,” he said in March.
