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.