Past, Present, and Future of Native Cultures @ NMAI
Written by DCist contributor Morgan Hargrave
Museum exhibits are usually necessarily limited in focus, attempting depth rather than breadth. The few that are not so restrained tend to overwhelm their patrons, losing them in an ambush of Too Much Information. Yet the National Museum of the American Indian has managed to avoid this pitfall in three exhibits that aim to define the entire histories, cultures, and guiding philosophies of indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere. Like the building itself, the exhibits are presented in rounded, almost circular formations that express the fluidity and interconnectedness of the communities that are profiled inside.
In the first of the three, titled Our Universes, we're ushered into the worldview of Native communities, which may be much narrower geographically, yet much wider spiritually than those of contemporary Western civilization. While the term 'universe' may suggest solar systems and planets for most of us, the NMAI shows us how the term denotes philosophy, land, and rules for living in most indigenous societies. For the Lakota people of the Midwestern United States, for example, the universe has historically encompassed little more than the sacred Black Hills, but it also includes their belief that life is a series of stages, each with its own set of values. And while there are obvious parallels that can be drawn across the traditions and cultures of the Native peoples featured in Our Universes, the exhibit does a fine job of presenting these shared values without letting them become muddled and thrown into generalizations.
Next, Our Peoples traces Native histories since newcomers arrived in the West to conquer and colonize the land. The exhibit greets visitors with a wall of artifacts that seem to be presented as evidence of Native history and existence. Pots, weapons, and figurines tell their stories of resistance and survival. There is a wall of bibles chronicling the shared experience of indigenous peoples as they were confronted by missionaries and the pressure of conversion. The exhibit follows the ideological clashes that were a result of the dogmas of Christianity clashing with the spirituality of indigenous cultures: native peoples have tended to apply little emphasis to worship, instead focusing on the expression of a 'oneness' with both nature and the spirit world. The exhibit portrays this proudly, giving us a glimpse into the background of a people who maintained a firm grasp on their social and spiritual mores during a time when their identity, not to mention their survival, was radically threatened.
Finally, Our Lives documents Native life in the 21st century. The exhibit details a clear struggle for self-determination in the modern world, with the often ambiguous status of Native peoples leading at times to an awkward blending of culture. For example, the acorn has always been an essential resource in the survival of the Kumeyaay people of California, so of course the Kumeyaay used their reservation's newly formed commercial zone to open the Golden Acorn Casino and Travel Center. All throughout, the exhibit strikes a hopeful tone about the future of Native cultures, but there is plenty of evidence that shows how their ways of life are in danger. Written and recorded quotes show Native people who feel their traditions are under attack; they do not speak of 'preserving' language and culture, they speak of 'defending' it.
Photo courtesy the NMAI web site. Gail Tremblay (Onondaga/Mi'kmaq, b. 1945), Strawberry and Chocolate, 2000. 16mm film and fullcoat, height 229 cm. 25/7273. Photo by Ernest Amoroso, NMAI.
The National Museum of the American Indian is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily and is located at 4th St. and Independence Ave., S.W., next to the National Air and Space Museum. The closest metro station is L'Enfant Plaza.