This thesis examines the issues surrounding the exhibition of Egyptian mummies in American museums. Current museum policies assert that all institutionalized human remains be treated respectfully according to the interests and beliefs of the body's culture of origin. However, what respectful treatment means for Egyptian mummies has largely been left undefined. Museum visitors frequently fail to recognize that Egyptian mummies are both authentic dead bodies and once living people with unique biographies. This thesis looks at the historical and cultural factors that have caused Egyptian mummies to be dehumanized by Western individuals and assesses the degree to which art museums, natural history museums, and archaeology museums address visitor misconceptions through their in-gallery interpretive devices. As case studies, I examine the Egyptian galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. As a point of comparison, I also evaluate Images of the Afterlife, a temporary exhibition designed by The Field Museum that utilizes computed tomography (CT) scans and forensic facial reconstructions as explanatory aids, an interpretive approach seldom fully incorporated into permanent exhibits focused more broadly on ancient Egypt. For each of these exhibits, I assess the mummies' physical presentation, their positioning within a larger exhibition narrative, and their accompanying textual and graphic interpretations, as well as visitor responses to the mummies as interpreted by these devices. I argue that to counteract visitor reactions that may be disrespectful to Egypt's ancient dead, museums must employ visual interpretive strategies that are both scientific and humanizing.