MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

November 2004
		Under a stunningly blue September sky, a procession of Native Nations rallied in Washington, D.C. to mark the opening of the Museum of the American Indian. The museum, the latest addition to the Smithsonian institutions that line the National Mall, is a celebration of the tribes, nations and cultures that have flourished throughout the Americas for centuries. Click here to read answers to your questions

Sept. 21, 2004: Arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown talks with Richard West and others about the museum's opening. Online NewsHour Special Report: Native culture and science clash over Kennewick Man Browse the NewsHour's Arts coverage.

Leading the procession was museum Director Richard West wearing a Cheyenne Indian headdress, along with Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Lawrence Small, the Smithsonian secretary. The museum, located near the U.S. Capitol and next to the National Air and Space Museum is a cultural and architectural celebration of the American landscape and its native peoples. The building, a swath of undulating natural stone, cost $214 million. The sweeping lines represent a communing with nature as the country's tribal peoples did. It houses 8,000 objects from across the Western Hemisphere. "The opening of this museum marks a unique cultural achievement as Native Americans from North, Central and South America realize a long-awaited dream to share and honor their vibrant cultures with visitors from throughout the world," the museum's Web site proclaimed. For West, the museum is unlike most of the other venerable institutions that dot the nation's capital because it focuses as much on the ongoing contributions of Native peoples as on their storied pasts. "What we want to do at the National Museum of the American Indian is to try to address the complexity of the Native experience and life, its many layers, and in that way begin to address some of the stereotypes," West told the NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown. "Lots think we're simply an ethnographic remnant of something that was here before, but isn't here very much now for the 35 million indigenous people throughout the hemisphere. Of course, we think we're here right now." West says he finds personal "poetry" in the museum's placement and completion. "As a good Southern Cheyenne, I think I could argue that we probably should have been, as Native people, among the first people represented on the National Mall, in a Smithsonian museum, because we're kind of that originating element of American history or the history of this hemisphere. Instead, we're the last. But in a very ironic twist of fate, we occupy the first place on the National Mall. We sit right at the head of it, right in the shadows of the National Capitol building." Four million visitors a year are expected for the museum's movies and music; paintings, photographs and sculptures; masks, weapons and animals; jewelry and medals; even food and plants. Thomas Sweeney, a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and director of public affairs, answered your questions about the museum, its mission and its plans for the future.

Sheila Mount Glenn of Snellville, Ga. asks: 1) Is there a section of the museum in which heritage traces can be aided? 2) Will there be ongoing exhibits demonstrating native American art forms which art dying out, so that there might be a revitalization of such? Thomas Sweeney of the Museum of the American Indian responds: No, the museum does not provide a section for tracing Indian ancestry. However, the U.S. Department of the Interior Web site at www.doi.gov provides a basic outline on this topic. The entire museum is devoted to preserving, encouraging and presenting American Indian cultures and various artworks, past and present, such as basketry and pottery. A Community Services Department works actively with many Native communities in providing technical assistance and outreach. Doreen Wheeler of Queensland, Australia asks: How does a person become recognized as American Indian? Thomas Sweeney responds: A recognized American Indian receives this recognition through his or her own tribe. Usually this occurs through a tribal enrollment process, which consists of meeting specific enrollment standards such as blood quantum or direct descendancy from a past tribal member. Michael Shapiro of Honolulu asks: I'm curious to know how the native Hawaiian people are represented at the museum. Are they afforded the same status as mainland natives? Are they set apart in any thoughtful way? Thank you. Thomas Sweeney responds: No, Native Hawaiians do not have the same relationship with the U.S. government as members of federally recognized American Indian tribes. The government-to-government relationship extends to 562 tribes. In Hawaii, many Native Hawaiians have established cultural organizations to preserve their culture in important ways. Richard Varenchik of Santa Clarita, Calif., asks: I am constantly frustrated by the huge gathering of national and international art treasures in Washington, D.C. Any chance that a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian will be opened someday in the West, perhaps in California, Oregon or Washington? It sure would be great. Thomas Sweeney responds: The Smithsonian does not plan to open a museum in the West in the near future. However, through traveling exhibitions with affiliate museums and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions Service's offerings, there is an ongoing effort to share exhibitions with different regions of the U.S. Beth Eriksen of Monarch Beach, Calif. asks: I just watched the report of today's opening of the exciting museum and am anxious to visit. I appreciated what Mr. West expressed about the Native Americans speaking in their own voices. The Heard Museum in Phoenix has exhibited excellent personal stories of older Native Americans reflecting on their past. Please tell me how this project was financed. Thank you. Thomas Sweeney responds: The National Museum of the American Indian is funded by annual federal appropriations and through private contributions. A museum membership program is a significant source of private revenue, for example. More than $100 million in donations to open the museum came from tribes, corporations, foundations and individuals. Milt Wear of Portland, Ore. asks: As an artist I would like to know how much space is devoted to contemporary Native American art? Thank you. Thomas Sweeney responds: A significant portion of the museum contains contemporary art. For example, the works of Alan Houser and George Morrison is contained in one gallery. Contemporary landmark objects, commissioned from leading Indian artists, are contained in the museum. Hayden Ausland of Missoula, Mont. asks: Thank you. It is high time for such a move. My chief question concerns the mission of the new museum: Will it pursue an interpretation of a crude, politicized character (e.g., Indian as pitiless "savage" in obvious need of "Western civilization"; alternatively, Indian as "authentic" innocent oppressed by the white "imperialist" murderers) or will it aim to be more intellectually careful, and inclusive in a scientifically respectable sense? I ask because I have some direct experience with the lively but slightly tendentious (and only recently closed) exhibition concerning the confrontation of three cultures in New Mexico that formed part of the American History Museum. In brief: Are we past the Columbus-bashing of the early '90s yet? This is a question many potential donors may well be asking themselves on this important occasion. Thomas Sweeney responds: The museum is dedicated to presenting and encouraging contemporary living Native cultures. However, the museum does not avoid telling difficult stories when they have a genuine place in an exhibition. Exhibition sections curated largely by Native communities contain a longer view of their histories and occasionally reference in a straightforward manner encounters with non-Indians. Todd Wilson of Fresno, Calif. asks: I would like to know the positions of the curators on what can only be described as the genocide perpetrated on Native American populations as our country expanded westward, and whether the reality of this dark chapter of our nation's history will be given the place it deserves in a museum devoted to the American Indian. Thank you. Thomas Sweeney responds: Because the museum is presented through from the Native voice, the stories told in exhibitions come from Native peoples themselves. The museum does not filter these stories. There are some difficult stories about military and other encounters that are related. But this is not the focus of the museum. Tom Montour of Springboro,Ohio asks: How many tribes have artifacts represented in the museum? Is there an Eastern exhibit representing the Woodlands tribes like the Iroquois Nation? The building itself appears to be a most impressive structure. Thomas Sweeney responds: There are 24 tribes and Native communities that worked directly with the museum in creating three distinct exhibitions. Many more are represented through public programs, films, displays of objects, and through the Resources Centers. Yes, the Eastern Cherokee Tribe of North Carolina is represented in the museum. Kathryn Creedy of Bennington, Vt. asks: I was thrilled to see the long-awaited opening of the museum and can't wait to see it. Mr. West's interviews all seemed to indicate that it is not limited to indigenous peoples of N. America. As the parent of a Quechua Indian from Bolivia, can you tell me if any exhibits cover the indigenous populations of Central and South America? Thomas Sweeney responds: Yes, there are seven Native communities represented in the museum's exhibitions including the Quechua of Peru and the Mapuche of Chile. Approximately 30 percent of the museum's collection comes from Latin America. Oyatunde Amakisi of Detroit asks: Several of my Ancestors are Native American (Choctaw, Cherokee). I am a black woman, but I am very proud of my Native heritage. Does your museum address the relationship between American Indians and blacks? Thomas Sweeney responds: The museum does not have an exhibition about this relationship currently. However, in future years many specific topics such as this may be included in exhibitions, symposia, films and by other means. The museum's Resource Centers do contain information about black Indians.