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| American Indian Museum / Geoff W Sutton 2017 |
Our visit to the Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC was timely as we were watching the documentary on The West on PBS.
The first thing we noticed was the unusual design of the building (photo above), which is quite attractive and worth walking around to appreciate the design and the informative landscape.
Once inside I recommend heading to the top floor and viewing the brief film. There are several exhibits and some will change so check the website (link below) for details.
We examined "Our Universes" in some depth to see many examples of the Indian Cultures in the Americas. Exhibit examples below.
This museum, like the other Smithsonian museums, is a place for research that will be missed in a casual walk through of exhibits. There are many Native American nations in the Americas. According to a national archives document, there are 562 recognized Indian Nations in the United States alone. I think it would be helpful if the Museum staff made it clear that we only see a sample of these nations. I should like to see some "wall" or other permanent exhibit representing all the known existing nations in the Americas.
Collection: The website authors report a vast collection. I hope a larger collection is on display in the years ahead.
Visibility: Some displays are hard to read due to dim lighting and/or lighting that produces a glare off of displays. Although photography is permitted, the glare and lighting made it difficult for this amateur. This problem of glare and poor lighting is common to many museum around the world.
Facilities: The museum appears clean with wide aisles and there are maintained restrooms. Some exhibits were not working when we visited.
Locations: There are museums in Washington DC and New York City
Food services: available on site.
Security: There is a security check and no food or drink is permitted (bottled water is permitted)
Shop- this museum has a store
CONNECT at MY WEBSITE: Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com
Museum website = http://nmai.si.edu/
TREATIES
Most people are familiar with the fact that many treaties between the United States and Native Americans were broken.
An exhibit illustrates eight treaties, which are a sample of some 374 treaties between the USA and Native Nations.
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| Buffalo Hide Record / Geoff Sutton 2017 |
The "Great Inka Road" exhibit provides a visual experience of an ongoing road linking communities in several South American nations. For those of us who live in the US, it's a good reminder that there were many indigenous people throughout the Americas.
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| Example of Inca Road |
This museum, like the other Smithsonian museums, is a place for research that will be missed in a casual walk through of exhibits. There are many Native American nations in the Americas. According to a national archives document, there are 562 recognized Indian Nations in the United States alone. I think it would be helpful if the Museum staff made it clear that we only see a sample of these nations. I should like to see some "wall" or other permanent exhibit representing all the known existing nations in the Americas.
Collection: The website authors report a vast collection. I hope a larger collection is on display in the years ahead.
Visibility: Some displays are hard to read due to dim lighting and/or lighting that produces a glare off of displays. Although photography is permitted, the glare and lighting made it difficult for this amateur. This problem of glare and poor lighting is common to many museum around the world.
Facilities: The museum appears clean with wide aisles and there are maintained restrooms. Some exhibits were not working when we visited.
Locations: There are museums in Washington DC and New York City
Food services: available on site.
Security: There is a security check and no food or drink is permitted (bottled water is permitted)
Shop- this museum has a store
CONNECT at MY WEBSITE: Geoffrey W. Sutton suttong.com
Museum website = http://nmai.si.edu/
Resources
PBS video The West
PLACES TO VISIT IN WASHINGTON DC
Here’s a few places to see along with some photos and links
to information.
DC Monuments and Memorials
DC Museums
And here’s my webpage www.suttong.com
And some books I have
published
Google Map
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