Yakama two-hide dress, ca. 1860

The exhibition, of course, is about cultural traditions. It features some 55 dresses and more than 200 accessories, all of which are meant to express the depth and development of Native women’s identities.

For example, the various cuts of the dresses can point to a tribe’s way of life. The side-fold dress was easier to walk in and used by more agricultural tribes, while the two- and three-hide dresses had skirts which were more practical for mobile tribes who spent more time on horseback.

The women could also use their dresses to express her family’s identity.

“It’s as if the woman is here herself,” guide Lee Showa said. “By decorating the dress with hunting prizes, she can make a statement about how good of a hunter her husband is. Or she can say something about her family’s wealth as well.”

Three-hide dress, ca. 1995, by Rebecca Hamilton Brady (Sac and Fox/Cheyenne) and Jon Brady (Arikara)

And, to prove that the cultural expression of identity through dresses continues to this day, there are dresses on display that were made especially for this exhibit.

But part of what makes the exhibit successful is that it is exceedingly well laid out.

Combined to take up one large room, the sections of the exhibitions are separated into various ovular spaces, like a chain of interlocking rings. Besides functioning under the entire building’s clockwise movement—an architectural implementation of an American Indian energetic tradition—this lay-out hearkens cultural traditions like powwow and dance circles.

In this way, form follows function at the NMAI. The presentation helps make this a memorable exhibition that conveys a complex cultural tradition through dresses and clothing, a dynamic but easily comprehensible conduit.

The National Museum of the American Indian is located at 4th Street and Independence Ave. NW and is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. Identity by Design runs through August 8.

Photos by Ernest Amoroso, courtesy National Museum of the American Indian.