MDAH Museum Division Receives Highest National Recognition with Accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums
The Museum Division of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH), which administers numerous sites including the Two Mississippi Museums, the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, and the Eudora Welty House and Garden, has received accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). This is the highest national recognition afforded to museums in the United States. Accreditation is evidence of excellence and is a marker of MDAH’s dedication to its mission of preserving, documenting, and sharing Mississippi’s history.
Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, roughly 1,100 are currently accredited. As part of the MDAH Museum Division accreditation, the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians was officially reaccredited in 2025, while the Museum of Mississippi History, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and the Eudora Welty House and Garden received first-time accreditation.
"MDAH Museum Division sites have always maintained the highest professional standards, with both the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and the Old Capitol Museum previously earning AAM Accreditation,” said Museum Division Director Cindy Gardner. “In August 2005, the state history museum was diligently working on reaccreditation. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina damaged the Old Capitol and closed the museum. We are thrilled to once again be accredited, and this time as the Museum Division as a whole.”
Nan Prince, director of collections at MDAH, said the accreditation is a reflection of the hard work that happens behind the scenes.
"We are excited to receive this news following an intense process of self-study and peer review,” Prince said. “I am incredibly proud of our staff and accreditation is a wonderful recognition of all the hard work that contributes to the success of these museums."
AAM accreditation brings national recognition to qualifying museums for a commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over 50 years, AAM’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability.
For a museum to be considered for accreditation, it must meet AAM’s core standards. These standards include proper regulation of collections, educational goals, facility and financial management, and more.
Accreditation is a very rigorous process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation, the museums first conducted a yearlong self-study followed by a review by AAM staff and a visit from peer reviewers. Because of this required process, AAM accreditation allots validation from others in the museum community.
The reaccreditation of MDAH’s Museum Division is evidence of its continuous dedication to sharing the state’s history through complex and often personal stories.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that our programs meet the mission of our sites, that our artifacts are cared for to the highest professional level, and that our sites are operated as some of the best museums in the state,” Gardner said. “The hard-working staff has allowed this to happen."