National Museum of the American Indian Washington

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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 the "Our Universes" exhibit in some depth to see many examples of the Indian Cultures in the Americas. Exhibit examples below.

Note: Some things may have changed since our visit in 2017.








































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 500 agreements and treaties between the US government and Native American Nations. The US Senate ratified between 368 to 374 treaties between 1778 and 1871..


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.

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.

Comments


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 museums 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 representing aspects of Native American cultures in Washington DC, New York City, and elsewhere.

Food services

They are 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

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