James Pepper Henry facts for kids

James Pepper Henry is a Native American museum director. He is also the vice-chairman of the Kaw Nation. He was the executive director of the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This museum opened its doors on September 18, 2021.

Mr. Henry has led several important museums. He was the first enrolled Native American to lead the Heard Museum. He was also the first Native American, besides Thomas Gilcrease himself, to lead the Gilcrease Museum.

Early Life and Family

James Pepper Henry's mother has Kaw and Muscogee Creek heritage. He is an official member of the Kaw Nation. He has always felt a strong connection to Oklahoma and the city of Tulsa.

His grandfather, Gilbert Pepper, was a member of the Kaw tribe. His grandmother, Floy Childers, was Muscogee Creek. They met while attending Haskell Indian School in Kansas. Gilbert was from Washunga, Oklahoma, and Floy was from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

After they married, they moved to Oregon. James's mother was born in Portland, Oregon, during World War II. James spent much of his childhood with his grandparents. Every summer, they visited relatives in North Tulsa, Oklahoma.

James's great-grandfather knew Thomas Gilcrease, who started the Gilcrease Museum. Both were members of the Muscogee Creek Nation. Young James saw Gilcrease's art collection early on. This experience inspired him to study art and art history in college.

Education

James Pepper Henry studied fine arts and art history at the University of Oregon. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988. He originally planned to become a sculptor.

Museum Career

Mr. Henry has had a long and successful career leading museums. He has worked at several major institutions across the United States.

Smithsonian Institution

Before leading other museums, James Pepper Henry worked for ten years at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). He was an associate director there. He also helped start the Kanza Museum in Kaw City, Oklahoma.

Anchorage Museum

Mr. Henry directed the Anchorage Museum in Alaska for six years. Under his leadership, the museum underwent a huge renovation. It reopened in 2010 after a ten-year, $110 million project.

The new museum focused on Alaska's history and culture. It featured interactive displays about earthquakes and tsunamis. It also had a planetarium with a special aurora borealis simulator. This allowed the museum to show more of its collection and keep visitors interested for longer.

Heard Museum, Phoenix

From 2013, James Pepper Henry served as director and CEO of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. One of his most notable achievements was an exhibit called "BUILD! Toy Brick Art at the Heard."

This exhibit showed how artists used LEGO bricks to create amazing forms. It was very popular. The museum's attendance increased by 58 percent that summer. Memberships also grew by 150 percent, making it the most successful summer exhibit in the museum's history.

Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa

On March 1, 2015, Tulsa University hired Henry to be the executive director of the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He wanted to improve the museum's reputation both locally and internationally. He also aimed to attract younger visitors.

Plans for the museum included:

• Adding two new galleries to display more art and traveling exhibits.
• Building a new main entrance and a large hall for many visitors.
• Adding underground parking.
• Building an elevated restaurant.

Mr. Henry resigned from his position at Gilcrease Museum on April 14, 2017.

First Americans Museum, Oklahoma City

After leaving Gilcrease, James Pepper Henry was hired by the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum in Oklahoma City. He became the director of the Indian Cultural Center (ICC) and CEO of its foundation. He started this new role on June 19, 2017.

The ICC had been under development for many years. Construction began in 2006, and a visitor center was finished in 2008. The project faced funding challenges, which caused construction to stop for four years. However, new agreements helped resolve these issues. The museum, now known as the First Americans Museum, officially opened on September 18, 2021.