Named in honor of Marshall McKay, former chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Tribal Council and the first Native American to serve as chair of the Autry’s board, the Marshall McKay Seminar for Empowering Native Knowledge has been held annually since 2022. The convening addresses topics that impact Indian Country and beyond.
Through a generous grant from the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the McKay Seminar takes place at two Autry facilities: the Parks Research Center and the Autry Museum campus in Griffith Park. The 2022 inaugural seminar was a two-day event that delved into the significant changes reshaping museums and their relationship to Native history, culture, and art. The 2023 seminar, a one-day event, focused on Native basketry, while the 2024 event, which lasted two days, explored the theme “Going Home: Returning Material Culture to Native Communities.” The symposium, which is livestreamed across Indian Country, features a variety of perspectives from Native artists, knowledge keepers, scholars, and museum professionals.
In the spirit of Marshall McKay’s generosity and support of Native communities, the Seminar proceedings are published every other year and distributed free of charge to tribal colleges and museums across the country.
About Marshall McKay (1952-2020)
Marshall McKay was a visionary leader of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and chair emeritus of the Autry Museum of the American West. He began his career in tribal government in 1984 and was elected to three terms as tribal chairman.
Born in Colusa, California, McKay grew up in Brooks, California, near the Yocha Dehe tribal community, and embarked on a nearly twenty-year career with the Department of Defense, based on the West Coast at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo.
A cornerstone of his leadership was his commitment to cultural renewal and preservation, a focus that he extended into education and sustainable land-use practices. McKay was dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Native arts and culture, the affirmation of sovereign tribal governance, and the international effort to protect the rights of all Indigenous peoples.
He was the director of the Cache Creek Casino Resort and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Academy, the tribe’s school. McKay served as chairman of the board of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and as a foundation board member at the University of California, Davis. He was a founding member of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation and served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Native American Heritage Commission and the State Historical Preservation Commission of California. In 2011, he was elected chair of the board of trustees at the Autry Museum of the American West.