Sedna Villavicencio

Biography

Sedna Villavicencio is the current Collections Fellow at Mingei International Museum in San Diego, California. In this role, she works closely with Native American and Indigenous collections, collaborating across the curatorial exhibitions departments. Sedna oversees adherence to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), a U.S. federal human rights law that requires museums to return Native American ancestral remains and cultural items to their respective Tribal Nations. Sedna manages the legal and ethical return of Native American ancestral remains and cultural items to their respective tribe and serves as the primary liaison between the museum and tribes.

Additionally, Sedna ensures that cultural heritage items are handled according to ‘duty of care’ standards by incorporating traditional Native American knowledge for proper storage and preservation.

Sedna holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and a master’s degree in American Indian Studies, both form UCLA. Since graduating in 2019, Sedna has built an extensive career working with indigenous collections and contemporary art at LACMA, the Hammer Museum at UCLA, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

Sedna was born in Cucapá territory (Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico) and raised in Tovaangar (Los Angeles, California) and Kumeyaay territory (San Diego, California).

Her professional background is deeply rooted in Indigenous Studies, museum stewardship, and anthropology from an Indigenous lens. As a Mexican American of Indigenous descent, she is interested in the multifaceted intersecting identities of museum professionals and the negotiation of these identities within the field.

At the British Museum

During her time on the International Training Programme, Sedna was based in the Africa, Oceania and Americas Department. Her UK Partner Placement was spent at Lincoln Museum and University of Nottingham Museum.