Hunter details decrepit state of the CNMI Museum

The Northern Mariana Islands’ Museum of History and Culture’s longstanding problems won’t be buried in history books yet, not while it doesn’t have the funding it needs to rectify them.

Executive director Robert Hunter told members of the Rotary Club of Saipan yesterday at their weekly meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan of the problems the museum continues to encounter—problems that, for the most part, stem from lack of funding.

Executive director Robert Hunter tells the state of the NMI Museum of History and Culture at the Rotary Club’s weekly meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan yesterday. (Frauleine Michelle S. Villanueva)

Problems from early beginnings

The current museum on Middle Road was the third incarnation of the state museum on the island. It served as the state museum since it opened in 1998 after the previous two, which were set up in different locations, closed down.

But this museum wasn’t also supposed to last, at least in its current location, in the renovated ruins of a Japanese era hospital. It was supposed to be relocated but this didn’t happen because of economic problems.

“It was never intended to become a permanent facility and that’s even written into the law that created the museum,” Hunter said.

“Because it wasn’t planned to be this permanent facility, a lot of what normally would have been planned or should have been planned into a museum facility wasn’t planned into this facility,” he added.

Among these are adequate storage, curator workspace, research space, and library area that is needed for a museum.

“The museum right now is packed to capacity. All four administrative offices are packed to the ceiling with historic material,” he said.

Present problems

Setting the limited space aside, the facility itself is having problems.

According to Hunter, the new room that was constructed when the museum was renovated is pulling away from the original structure and the cheapest of remedies that they can find costs about $20,000.

Operating the museum also poses problems. Beginning in mid-2000s, the museum was hit hard with budget cuts.

“We ran every fifth light, for example, for cost-savings,” said Hunter, who told the audience that they also experienced power cuts before.

From 10 staff, it came to a point where Hunter and a maintenance person were the only ones left to operate the facility.

In effect, the museum can’t also apply for grants, for example, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which requires them to have a five- or 10-year history of professional staff and curators, which the museum doesn’t have.

“In the past we had to recruit these people from the mainland and they come at a very high cost,” Hunter added.

Effect on the future

Hunter admits that “the magnitude of the financial problems in the museum is enormous.”

But despite the seeming lack of priority in maintaining the museum and its artifacts, for him there is a need to take care of these because it can benefit the future, including generating possible revenues.

“This is our collective wealth. These are the only artifacts, there’s no replacing these artifacts,” Hunter said.