American Indian Museum
Dedicated to Preserving Culture and Traditions
Unusual Design
American Indians believe that all things in life are connected and life’s journey moves in a circle. So when the planners of the NMAI wanted to design their museum in a circular, spiritual way and where everything is connected it should be no surprise. No other Smithsonian Museum is designed in this way and therefore it came under criticism by Edward Rothstein from Times, Paul Richard and Marc Fisher from the Post.
Rothstein, Richard, and Fisher criticized the museum for not having enough “scholarship” or “crisp lessons” in the museum’s exhibits. Rothstein in particular felt that having the museum done in tribal voices says little about the museum and therefore planners of NMAI were more interested in the sociological aspects of the American Indian rather than the scholarship.
Fisher felt the planners were more interested in designing a museum in a “trendy faux-selflessness” way and that the Natives were allowed to design the museum in the way they wished to be seen.
Richard’s believed that the exhibits did not “nourish thought” and that the exhibits were a blur. He stated that the “labeling is awful” and due to the fact that it is not a museum of art or history is therefore ahistorical.
Traditions and Culture
The critics based their criticism on the traditional museum design, which is based on scholarship. They neglected to realize how important it is to allow the museum to be set up and organized in the Native voice, otherwise it would be just another museum based on the stereotype.
Reviewers have found that the most important aspect of the museum is that it is told in the Native voice, which reflects the Native culture. The museum integrates the Native past with the present. An example of this is in the display of the three items that attempted to assimilate if not wipe out the American Indian. The items are guns, Bibles, and treaties. Displayed in not only a way to show the Native’s past, but also displayed in a way to show the Natives survival and resilience.
Due to Hollywood’s portrayal of the American Indian and prejudices of the race people, have a non-realistic view and understanding of the American Indian culture. This is reflective in visitors asking to see the Teepees believing all American Indians lived in Teepees.
Designers of the Museum
The planners of the museum included input from North and South America for the design of the museum. Without this, the museum would not have a true reflection of what it is to be an American Indian. However, since most visitors to the museum are non-Native and think more in a linear way there can be confusion as to the way the museum is setup. Planners have worked towards developing a better understanding of how and why the museum is designed the way it is.
The explanation for how the museum is setup is explained through the words of Leslie Marmon Silko, American Indian poet and writer. She explains that for those who are
accustomed to a structure that moves from point A to point B to point C, this presentation may be somewhat difficult to follow because the structure of Pueblo expression resembles something like a spider’s web . . .
This explanation helps the visitor to learn of the Native culture and that it does not follow what is considered the “normal” design.
As mentioned earlier, all things Native are done in a circular way and therefore is connected. This is reflective in the landscape in where the trees and other vegetation are planted and where the grandfather rocks are located.
The fact that the planners of the museum saw the importance of including tribal members from North and South America in the process only enriches America’s history. Americans cannot educate others, write about, or even present history without including the American Indian.
Getting to the Truth
The United States government has tried to assimilate them into white culture, when so much could have been learned from their culture. It is fortunate that there is a museum like the National American Indian Museum in Washington, D.C. where visitors can learn true American Indian traditions and not the way Hollywood or history books have portrayed them.
Sources:
American Quarterly National Museum of the American Indian as Cultural Sovereignty
Amanda Cobb
Public Historian Continuing Dialogues: Evolving Views of the NMAI
Amy Lonetree
National Museum of the American Indian
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