By Roslyn Farhi
For Coastal Senior

Robert C. Lautman photo
North Facade of the National Museum of the American Indian

If you go National Museum of the American Indian 4th Street and Independence Avenue S.W. Washington, D.C. (202) 633-1000 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, closed Dec. 25. The National Museum of the American Indian is located on the National Mall between the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum and the U.S. Capitol Building. For more information, go online: www.nmai.si.edu/

In the first 100 days of its opening,g the National Museum of the American Indian has seen more than 1 million visitors pass through its doors - each eager to view the 8,000 artifacts carefully selected by Native American representatives to reflect the culture of Native Americans.

It is the eighteenth museum to occupy the last available space, 4.25 acres, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Approved by an act of Congress in 1989, it has triumphantly opened its doors 15 year later.

The National Museum of the American Indian resembles no other museum in our nation's capital. Crafted from golden-colored limestone, the exterior evokes natural rock formations shaped by Nature's hand over the course of centuries. The wetlands surrounding the museum have 40 boulders known as "grandfather rocks," a fitting reminder of the longevity of the cultures, history and artifacts awaiting exploration.

Visitors enter the museum facing east toward the rising sun and step into a 120-foot-high atrium called the Potomac. At the museum's entrance you'll find a welcome wall of video screens to greet you in 150 Native languages. This welcome greeting is reinforced in the Lelawi Theater's 13-minute multi-media program on the fourth floor of the museum. Emil Her Many Horses from the Oglala Lakota tribe speaks for Native Peoples in saying, "our philosophies of life come from our ancestors. They taught us to live in harmony with animals, plants, the spirit world and the world around us."



Ernest Amoroso photo
Spirit Drummer, whalebone sculpture, by Karoo Ashevak (Inuit, 1940-1974), Taloyoak (Spence Bay), Nunavut, Canada

The three permanent exhibitions on the third and fourth level reinforce this philosophy by exploring "Our Universes," "Our Peoples" and "Our Lives." Each exhibition includes eight galleries that were developed in collaboration with members of the Native communities.

In the exhibit of "Our Lives," visitors learn how residents of eight Native communities live in the 21st century. How do they survive economically, save their language from extinction and keep their culture and tradition alive? In the next exhibit, "Our Peoples," Native Americans give voice to their own history. In pausing to read and listen to stories from the Seminole tribe in Florida or hear the stories of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, guests learn the tragic 500-year history of the Native Peoples who suffered diseases, seizure of their homelands and the weakening of their traditions of spirituality.

The third main exhibit, "Our Universe, the Order of the World," tells the story of the ceremonies of the Native Americans through the Denver, Colo., Powwow, the North American Indigenous Games and the Day of the Dead celebrated by the Native Americans in Central and South America. The total impact of the words, music, photos, artifacts of this exhibit reminds us it is the seasonal celebrations across the Native American culture that bring all people together.

The first two levels of the museum are devoted to gift shops. On one level, Native American fine art, sculpture and jewelry cater to collectors of unique objects. But on the second level, in a much larger space, guests select from more affordable items: leather goods, tee shirts, musical instruments. A plus for all these purchases is the absence of sales tax and the knowledge that proceeds benefit charitable projects for the Native peoples.



The Mitsitam Cafe (meaning "let's eat" in the Piscataway and Delaware languages) serves "native" foods like buffalo burgers and cinnamon fry bread. At lunchtime it is very crowded with visiting school groups.

Concerning crowds, the National Museum of the American Indian is a very popular tourist destination and although admission is free, if you are visiting Washington, D.C., in the height of the tourist season (March-May) it might be wise to purchase timed passes in advance of your visit. You can obtain these passes for a small fee by accessing www.tickets.com or by calling 1-866-400-NMAI (6624).

The founding director of the museum, W. Richard West, Jr. (a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma) eloquently sums up the Museum of the American Indian, "As a Cheyenne boy growing up in Oklahoma, I could hardly have imagined a place as splendid as the National Museum of the American Indian. Even now, it seems almost dreamlike to me. Yet sometimes, on this path we travel through life, we do interrupt the journey and arrive at a place we have long dreamed about. For me, and for many of our friends, the new Mall Museum is a vision that has become tangible."