KANSAS CITY — St. Joseph Museums Inc. has agreed to loan a series of items from its collection for temporary use in a new American Indian exhibit planned for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

The Kansas City museum is already involved in renovations to create space for the American Indian art project, and officials say the loaned items will help complete the display. The galleries are set to open in fall 2009.

“We’re happy to do this,” said Sarah Elder, curator of collections for the St. Joseph Museums. “Not every museum has everything in the world.”

The artifacts, which Ms. Elder said date from 1890 to 1912, are from the Harry L. George Collection and include:

A feather basket from the Pomo people who inhabited America’s Pacific Coast. The feathers are woven into the basket’s design. “It’s really gorgeous,” Ms. Elder said.

A pair of masks and a single mask that are Alaskan Eskimo. Dance masks often were made in pairs, and it’s rare to find two of the masks together. The pair represent a spirit and a seal, while the single mask depicts a human skull.

Two women’s boots from Greenland made of cut leather to create patterns covering the boot’s surface.

A copper mask from the Tlingit people who inhabited the northwest Pacific Coast and southern Alaska. The mask represents a sea bear and has an abalone inlay in the eyes and mouth. “It is probably one of the most famous pieces in St. Joseph’s distinguished collection,” said Gaylord Torrence, the Fred and Virginia Merrill senior curator of American Indian Art. Mr. Torrence requested the loan. The other best-known example is featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

A copper bracelet from the Tlingit that depicts a whale.

A wooden turtle effigy carved by the Mesquakie people of Iowa.

St. Joseph Museums Executive Director Jackie Lewin said the cooperation between the organizations will help further interest in the history of American Indian lifestyles.

“Educating the public through exhibition of our artifacts is part of our mission, and taking a role in this exhibition will help reach a new and varied audience,” Ms. Lewin said.

Ms. Elder said the items should arrive in Kansas City sometime in the weeks ahead. The George collection came to the museum in 1946.

At one point last year, the St. Joseph Museums Inc. Board of Trustees put off making a decision to loan American Indian artifacts to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, citing the atmosphere around Museums Inc. The museum recently had been through an artifact audit and a U.S. Department of the Interior investigation regarding American Indian artifacts.

Ray Scherer can be reached at rscherer@npgco.com.