Nancy Chavis

Nancy Strickland Chavis, is a self proclaimed history nerd and art junkie. She is a proud member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Nancy has over twenty years of experience focused in museum education, curation, and administration. She was employed by the Museum of Contemporary Native Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico; The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.; and The American Indian Cultural Center and Museum (now First Americans Museum) in Oklahoma City. Her current role is director and curator of The Museum of the Southeast American Indian at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  
 
Through the lens of art, cultural, and historical curation, Nancy’s work seeks to publicly share authentic stories of Indigenous peoples in the South. Recently, as guest curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Nancy brought to life the significant exhibition, To Take Shape and Meaning: Form and Design in Contemporary American Indian Art, featuring three-dimensional works of art from American Indian artists across the United States and Canada. 
 
Nancy is the first Lumbee graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Museum Studies. She earned a Master’s degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and is currently completing her PhD in Public History at North Carolina State University.  
 
Nancy is a commissioner for the North Carolina American Indian Heritage Commission and a former Trustee for the North Carolina Humanities Council. She has recently been elected to the Roanoke Island Historical Association.  Nancy is a proud member of Alpha Pi Omega Sorority.