The museum was founded by Bishop Alphonse Sowada, a Minnesota native who worked with the Asmat people in Agats, Indonesia, for decades starting in 1958.

Sowada, who had earned a master's degree in cultural anthropology from Catholic University of America, wrote books on Asmat art and culture and collected hundreds of artifacts, which later formed the core of the museum's collection.

Sowada was also instrumental in founding the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress[5] in Agats in 1973, described by the artist Tobias Schneebaum as "a museum designed for the local people, not the nonexistent tourist,"[6] as well as an annual woodcarving competition and auction to recognize outstanding carvers in Agats, held in October since 1981.

[7] After Sowada's retirement and return to the United States, he housed the collection in Hastings, Nebraska, and Shoreview, Minnesota, before donating it to St. Thomas in 2007.

[8] Hennen Huber, Molly; Sowada, Bishop Alphonse; Braun, Mary; Daniels, Jim (2009).