National Museum of the American Indian
Encyclopedia
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution
that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans
of the Western Hemisphere. It has three facilities: the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C.
, which opened on September 21, 2004, on Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, Southwest; the George Gustav Heye Center
, a permanent museum in New York City
; and the Cultural Resources Center, a research and collections facility in Suitland, Maryland.
(1874–1957) traveled throughout North and South America collecting native objects. His collection was assembled over 54 years, beginning in 1903. He started the Museum of the American Indian and his Heye Foundation in 1916. The Heye Foundation's Museum of the American Indian opened to the public on Audubon Terrace
in New York City in 1922. The current name was established in 1989 through an Act of Congress
following a controversy over Native leaders' discovery that the Smithsonian Institution held more than 18,000 Indian remains, mostly in storage. The Heye collection became part of the Smithsonian in June 1990, and represents approximately 85% of the holdings of the NMAI. The NMAI was initially housed in lower Manhattan at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, which remains an exhibition site; its building on the Mall in Washington, DC opened in 2004.
opened in September 2004. Fifteen years in the making, it is the first national museum in the country dedicated exclusively to Native Americans. The five-story, 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²), curvilinear building is clad in a golden-colored Kasota limestone
designed to evoke natural rock formations shaped by wind and water over thousands of years. The museum is set in a 4.25 acres (17,199.2 m²)-site and is surrounded by simulated wetland
s. The museum’s east-facing entrance, its prism window and its 120 feet (37 m) high space for contemporary Native performances are direct results of extensive consultations with Native peoples. Similar to the Heye Center
in Lower Manhattan, the museum offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs, public programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.
The museum’s architect
and project designer is the Canadian
Douglas Cardinal
(Blackfoot
); its design architects are GBQC Architects of Philadelphia
and architect Johnpaul Jones (Cherokee
/Choctaw
). Disagreements during construction led to Cardinal's being removed from the project, but the building retains his original design intent. His continued input enabled its completion.
The museum’s project architects are Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects Ltd. of Seattle and SmithGroup of Washington, D.C., in association with Lou Weller (Caddo
), the Native American Design Collaborative, and Polshek Partnership Architects
of New York City
; Ramona Sakiestewa (Hopi
) and Donna House (Navajo
/Oneida
) also served as design consultants. The landscape architects are Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects Ltd. of Seattle and EDAW, Inc., of Alexandria, Virginia
.
In general, American Indians have filled the leadership roles in the design and operation of the museum and have aimed at creating a different atmosphere and experience from museums of European and Euro-American culture. Donna E. House, the Navajo and Oneida botanist who supervised the landscaping, has said, "The landscape flows into the building, and the environment is who we are. We are the trees, we are the rocks, we are the water. And that had to be part of the museum." This theme of organic flow is reflected by the interior of the museum, whose walls are mostly curving surfaces, with almost no sharp corners.
The Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe is divided into Native regional sections such as the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso-America, and the Great Plains. The only Native American groups not represented in the café are the south eastern tribes such as the Choctaw
, Chickasaw
, Cherokee
and Seminole
, many of which supported the United States throughout the tribes' histories.
in Lower Manhattan
. The Beaux Arts-style building, designed by architect Cass Gilbert
, was completed in 1907. It is a designated National Historic Landmark
and a New York City landmark. The center’s exhibition and public access areas total about 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²). The Heye Center offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.
The National Museum of the American Indian is home to the collection of the former Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. The collection includes more than 800,000 objects, as well as a photographic archive of 125,000 images. The collection, which became part of the Smithsonian in June 1990, was assembled by George Gustav Heye
(1874–1957) during a 54-year period, beginning in 1903. He traveled throughout North and South America collecting Native objects. Heye used his collection to found New York’s Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation and directed it until his death in 1957. The Heye Foundation’s Museum of the American Indian opened to the public in New York City in 1922.
The collection is not subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
. When the National Museum was created in 1989, a law governing repatriation was drafted specifically for the museum, upon which NAGPRA was modeled.
The museum has programs in which Native American scholars and artists can view NMAI's collections to enhance their own research and artwork.
The museum has been criticized for focusing on the Native American point of view When the museum opened in October 2004, there was widespread criticism that the exhibits presented an unevaluated hodge-podge, with little or no attempt to explain the meaning of the objects, or even to label them. Experts criticized it as sacrificing scholarship, homogenizing the diversities of America's native peoples and being generally "incoherent and plagued by romantic cliché". Other museum visitors were pleased to see a focus on living Native Americans as opposed to documenting history. NMAI's unique ongoing exhibit, "Our Lives" showcases eight indigenous communities at a time, from North and South America. The museum works closely with the communities so that they are able to choose how they are represented. "Our Lives" explores Native self-identity–how the community sees themselves, how they dress, what they think, and how they see themselves within the world today.
in Tempe, an affiliate professor in its American Indian Studies Program and co-executive director of the university’s American Indian Policy Institute. Gover, 52, grew up in Oklahoma and is a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and of Comanche
descent. He received his bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico. He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Princeton University in 2001.
Gover succeeds W. Richard West Jr. (Southern Cheyenne
), who was the founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian (1990–2007).
West was strongly criticized in 2007 for having spent $250,000 on travel in four years and being away from the museum frequently on overseas travel. This was official travel funded by the Smithsonian, and many within the Native American community offered defenses of West and his tenure.
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of the Western Hemisphere. It has three facilities: the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, which opened on September 21, 2004, on Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, Southwest; the George Gustav Heye Center
The George Gustav Heye Center
The George Gustav Heye Center is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, USA. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution...
, a permanent museum in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; and the Cultural Resources Center, a research and collections facility in Suitland, Maryland.
History
George Gustav HeyeGeorge Gustav Heye
George Gustav Heye was a collector of Native American artifacts. His collection became the core of the National Museum of the American Indian.-Biography:...
(1874–1957) traveled throughout North and South America collecting native objects. His collection was assembled over 54 years, beginning in 1903. He started the Museum of the American Indian and his Heye Foundation in 1916. The Heye Foundation's Museum of the American Indian opened to the public on Audubon Terrace
Audubon Terrace
Audubon Terrace, also known as Audubon Terrace Historic District, is a landmark complex of approximately eight early 20th century Beaux Arts buildings in New York City...
in New York City in 1922. The current name was established in 1989 through an Act of Congress
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
following a controversy over Native leaders' discovery that the Smithsonian Institution held more than 18,000 Indian remains, mostly in storage. The Heye collection became part of the Smithsonian in June 1990, and represents approximately 85% of the holdings of the NMAI. The NMAI was initially housed in lower Manhattan at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, which remains an exhibition site; its building on the Mall in Washington, DC opened in 2004.
National Mall
The site on the National MallNational Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
opened in September 2004. Fifteen years in the making, it is the first national museum in the country dedicated exclusively to Native Americans. The five-story, 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²), curvilinear building is clad in a golden-colored Kasota limestone
Kasota limestone
Kasota limestone or simply, 'Kasota stone,' is a dolomitic limestone found in southern Minnesota. This sedimentary rock is part of the Oneota Dolostone Formation of southern Minnesota and is approximately 450 million years old...
designed to evoke natural rock formations shaped by wind and water over thousands of years. The museum is set in a 4.25 acres (17,199.2 m²)-site and is surrounded by simulated wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s. The museum’s east-facing entrance, its prism window and its 120 feet (37 m) high space for contemporary Native performances are direct results of extensive consultations with Native peoples. Similar to the Heye Center
The George Gustav Heye Center
The George Gustav Heye Center is a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City, USA. The museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution...
in Lower Manhattan, the museum offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs, public programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.
The museum’s architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and project designer is the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Douglas Cardinal
Douglas Cardinal
Douglas Joseph Cardinal, OC is a Canadian architect.Born of Métis and Blackfoot heritage, Cardinal is famous for flowing architecture marked with smooth lines, influenced by his Aboriginal heritage as well as European Expressionist architectureIn 1953, he attended the University of British...
(Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
); its design architects are GBQC Architects of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and architect Johnpaul Jones (Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
/Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
). Disagreements during construction led to Cardinal's being removed from the project, but the building retains his original design intent. His continued input enabled its completion.
Caddo
The Caddo Nation is a confederacy of several Southeastern Native American tribes, who traditionally inhabited much of what is now East Texas, northern Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma. Today the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a cohesive tribe with its capital at Binger, Oklahoma...
), the Native American Design Collaborative, and Polshek Partnership Architects
James Polshek
James Stewart Polshek is an American architect based in New York City. He is the founder of Polshek Partnership, the firm at which he was Principal Design Partner for more than four decades...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; Ramona Sakiestewa (Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
) and Donna House (Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
/Oneida
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...
) also served as design consultants. The landscape architects are Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects Ltd. of Seattle and EDAW, Inc., of Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
.
The Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe is divided into Native regional sections such as the Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso-America, and the Great Plains. The only Native American groups not represented in the café are the south eastern tribes such as the Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
, Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
, many of which supported the United States throughout the tribes' histories.
George Gustav Heye Center
The Museum’s George Gustav Heye Center occupies two floors of the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom HouseAlexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House is a building in New York City, built 1902–1907 by the federal government to house the duty collection operations for the port of New York. It is located near the southern tip of Manhattan, next to Battery Park, at 1 Bowling Green...
in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
. The Beaux Arts-style building, designed by architect Cass Gilbert
Cass Gilbert
- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...
, was completed in 1907. It is a designated National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
and a New York City landmark. The center’s exhibition and public access areas total about 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²). The Heye Center offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.
Cultural Resources Center
In Suitland, Maryland, the National Museum of the American Indian operates the Cultural Resources Center, an enormous, nautilus-shaped building which houses the collection, a library, and the photo archives.Collection
George Gustav Heye
George Gustav Heye was a collector of Native American artifacts. His collection became the core of the National Museum of the American Indian.-Biography:...
(1874–1957) during a 54-year period, beginning in 1903. He traveled throughout North and South America collecting Native objects. Heye used his collection to found New York’s Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation and directed it until his death in 1957. The Heye Foundation’s Museum of the American Indian opened to the public in New York City in 1922.
The collection is not subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act , Pub. L. 101-601, 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., 104 Stat. 3048, is a United States federal law passed on 16 November 1990 requiring federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American "cultural items" to...
. When the National Museum was created in 1989, a law governing repatriation was drafted specifically for the museum, upon which NAGPRA was modeled.
The museum has programs in which Native American scholars and artists can view NMAI's collections to enhance their own research and artwork.
The museum has been criticized for focusing on the Native American point of view When the museum opened in October 2004, there was widespread criticism that the exhibits presented an unevaluated hodge-podge, with little or no attempt to explain the meaning of the objects, or even to label them. Experts criticized it as sacrificing scholarship, homogenizing the diversities of America's native peoples and being generally "incoherent and plagued by romantic cliché". Other museum visitors were pleased to see a focus on living Native Americans as opposed to documenting history. NMAI's unique ongoing exhibit, "Our Lives" showcases eight indigenous communities at a time, from North and South America. The museum works closely with the communities so that they are able to choose how they are represented. "Our Lives" explores Native self-identity–how the community sees themselves, how they dress, what they think, and how they see themselves within the world today.
Directors
Kevin Gover is the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian as of December 2, 2007. He is a former professor of law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State UniversityArizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
in Tempe, an affiliate professor in its American Indian Studies Program and co-executive director of the university’s American Indian Policy Institute. Gover, 52, grew up in Oklahoma and is a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and of Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
descent. He received his bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico. He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Princeton University in 2001.
Gover succeeds W. Richard West Jr. (Southern Cheyenne
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma.-History:...
), who was the founding director of the National Museum of the American Indian (1990–2007).
West was strongly criticized in 2007 for having spent $250,000 on travel in four years and being away from the museum frequently on overseas travel. This was official travel funded by the Smithsonian, and many within the Native American community offered defenses of West and his tenure.
Magazine
The museum also publishes a quarterly magazine, called the American Indian, which focuses on a wide range of topics pertaining to Indian County. American Indian won the Native American Journalists Association's General Excellence awards in 2003 and 2002. The magazine's mission is to: "Celebrate Native Traditions and Communities."See also
- Always BecomingAlways Becoming'Always Becoming' is an artwork created in 2007 by Nora Naranjo-Morse , a Native American Potter and poet. She currently resides in Espanola, New Mexico, just north of Santa Fe and is a member of the Santa Clara Pueblo.-Description:...
- American Indian College FundAmerican Indian College FundThe American Indian College Fund is an nonprofit organization that helps Native American students, providing them with support through scholarships and funding toward higher education...
- Live Earth concert, Washington, D.C.Live Earth concert, Washington, D.C.The Live Earth concert in Washington, D.C., officially known as "Mother Earth" , was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA and was sponsored by and held on the premises/venue of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian....
- Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation ActNative American Graves Protection and Repatriation ActThe Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act , Pub. L. 101-601, 25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq., 104 Stat. 3048, is a United States federal law passed on 16 November 1990 requiring federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American "cultural items" to...
External links
- Official website
- Photo tour of the National Museum of the American Indian
- A Visitor's Experience: The National Museum of the American Indian
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Kevin Gover from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial MuseumUnited States Holocaust Memorial MuseumThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...