National museums are privileged spaces to construct political and cultural identities within the framework of a nation-state. The aim of this article is to analyze how political constitutions and cultural heritage law influence national museums’ practices in relation to the participation of multiple heritage communities. Using the National Museum of Colombia as a reference of historical development, this article analyzes how legal regulations have shaped its functions, operations, and representations since its foundation. It also presents proposals to understand the role of communities from four different perspectives: (1) as exhibitions, (2) as consultants, (3) as participants, and (4) as managers. To enable the fourth perspective, legal frameworks promoting policies that guarantee the cultural diversity and human rights of indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities are necessary.