by Mee, Guenet, Jinedi, and Jaime
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The National Museum of the American Indian
Finding Ourselves
We thought that all museums in Washington D.C. were mostly rectangular and cubic shaped until we visited The National Museum of the American Indian which was unique and spectacular. Visiting the museum was a process of discovery where we found ourselves, our culture and our identity through the exhibitions.
The museum is located between Air and Space Museum and U.S Capitol building in Washington, D.C. as you can notice in one of our pictures.
Finding your past is a way to discover your identity. The museum invites us to explore ourselves. Learning about the culture and lifestyle of the Indian connected us spiritualy. Not only emphasize the Northern Native American, but also portrays the life styles of the native American from Alaska, Central America, the Caribean islands and South America. The spiritual beliefs, their survival techniques and the talent of their artistic nature made a big impression on us. The museum give you the opportunity to experience the past within the present and make some changes in your life.
First of all, the beauty of the museum and the architecture design invited us to learn more about the native. From inside out, the museum is a gorgeous combination of unique, colossal building, a magnificent landscape with a lake, cascades, river, gardens and stone plaza ( See picture of south and front facade of the buliding) Tell us where! Also, the sensational wide interior and exterior spaces with the purpose to express the sacred connection between natives and their land. At first sight, the beauty of the building struck us and at the same time invited us to come in. Jaime, one of the group members who posed with his indian shirt in the picture above Your photos need captions!, said: " When I looked at the building I was immediatly transported to my ancestors. I was looking at the mountain countours instead of the wavey shape of the building. I saw the color of our motherland's ground on the museum's wall. The rough and rocky surface of the building was the indians' house facade. I was coming back to my ancestors' home....my home". (See the last picture above of Khapo tribe's building in New Mexico and observe the similarities with the museum).
At the entrance there is a Museum's Lobby, this area really impressed us. (See first picture of Mee, one of group member, at the lobby, and some indian's canoes Your photos need captions!). It is a wide open area in a circular shape. The materials in this area are: stone, marble, bronce and metal. There is boat covered with seal skin used in the artic at the center of the lobby. The place has some benches around for sitting inorder to observe in a relaxed form. The National Museum of the American Indian had a marvelous display that impacted us. One of our group member was impressed by the native's clothing. She liked the textures and imprints of the clothing which were basic yet beautiful costumes of our ancestors. For her, it was some kind of connection not only with the aesthetic manner but in an emotional aspect as well, she explained that the clothing made her feel very comfortable and "cozy" (see the picture of black and red Kiowa tribe's woman dress shown below)Your photos need captions!. For example, we saw an Arapaho Tribe's red dress adorned with elk's tooth (long deer with flat antlers) that symbolized love and prosperity. This is an special present before wedding ceremony take place where the groome give to any female member of his bride's family. Thus, the dresses stood as a motive of pride and identity among the members of the tribe.
Furthermore, another display of the museum that amused us was their usage of clever techniques. For example, the Mayan techniques of making clothes, called "loom". The Mayan wooden weaver used in Central America untill this day. ( Pictures in the collage below shown the mayan wooden weaver and Jaime is using a mayan shirt made with it in a picture above).We found out about our natives' everyday activites such as the task that is commonly known as "putting the food on the table". One of our group members was impressed with the way in which the Native Americans fished and hunt. Their methods were very clever at that time, a reason that filled them with pride. For example, when fishing and hunting, the persecution of the prey was critical; especially in severe weather areas (like the Central Artic). The Iglomik tribe built a boat covered by seal skin, which is a natural waterproof membrene, camouflaged, and made with an incredible speed in order to hunt the caribou, a north american deer. Their waterproof clothes, boots and gloves were made out of a layer of seal skin and caribou, and everyone says that those are better than the ones they sell in the market. (see the boat and boots on collage's picture below).
The museum was visited by people from all over the world. Families with young children, group of truists with camera taking pictures. Every one seems happy, and you meet people you dont know asking you if you could take their picture by the museum. Lots of smiling faces. It adds warmth to the athmospher .The National Museum of the American Indian had a wide variety of visitors. We noticed the various types of people that visited the museum. There were a lot of senior visitors, who seemed to be of native descent, and there were also many young visitors, which were either large groups of high school students visiting the museum on a field trip or doing research for a project. There were also a lot of tourists who seemed to enjoy the displays the museum has to offer. Finally we saw many hispanic visitors who joined the museum visitors and what it offers to the public. Something that also filled us with warmth were the guidance stuff came from an Native American heritage. The visitors divided themselves in three groups: the Planetarioum Plaza at the entrance of the museum, the Potomac Plaza at the lobby of the museum, and inside of the native American theater to enjoy a movie. Also, something that grabbed our attention were the large amount of people by the stairs surrouning the Potomac Plaza watching the shows displayed on it.
The National Museum of the American Indian is something more than just a regular museum because the magnificent architecture, the spacious dimentions, and the warmth of the exhibitions invites every visitor to reflect about what makes each of them the person they are today. How the past interfeers and influences every aspect of our present, and how that same past determines our future. The physical appareance and the museum's open spaces makes the visitors feel like they are home, filling them with a sense of freedom and comfort. With such openness in the air it is easy to observe every now and then an spontaneus and simple expression of joy like the father playing with his little kid in the middle of the lobby. (see picture below). The museum is a rigth place in which we can witness the passage of time and all the changes our ancestors went through, and at the end ask ourselves: Are we happy with the way we are? Are our life fill of pride, self respect and values like they used to be?.
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