The Museum of the American Indian

   Laying on the warm wooden floor in the patches of sun filtering through the deep window niches in the round wall, voices at a distance, talking and occasionally singing, the feeling of quiet. Reading a book, relaxing, stretching. Looking out from the empty, cacoon like building at the noisy busy world on the other side of the glass. Sometimes there were the smells of food, the sound of dancers 'practicing' for Powwows and performances. Never any furniture except a few folding tables, just space, emptiness, and quiet. A comfortable place with enough space for anyone who wanted to be there at the time. As a child, I took ballet classes in the 'Turtle'. A Native American cultural center in Niagara Falls, New York. There is something about a building the shape of an animal that appeals to children. All our friends loved it. We liked being there, the feeling of sitting inside a turtle and looking out at the world around. It was a place unto itself. A place of fantasy. I heard that it sat empty for many years and was almost torn down before being 'saved ' a few years ago. I am glad it was saved. It is a special place, a place that future generations ought to be able to enjoy like we did growing up.


I hadn't thought about the Turtle for many years, but walking into the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, I was suddenly there again. Admittedly, it wasn't very quiet, or empty, but it had the round open feel that I have always found so pleasant. We were there early, just after it opened, and for the first 20 minutes it was very enjoyable, but then the crowds arrived and we moved on to the gift shops.

All of the Smithsonian museums have wonderful gift shops but this one was especially nice because most of the products available were handmade by actual artisans from actual tribes. And while I realize that it is a gift shop and a tourist attraction, and that a lot of what was available may be more art than tradition, I enjoyed the minimal factory influence. It was in this museum that we bought most of the actual family gifts.

 After literally shopping until we could no more we left the museum to get a bit of fresh air and see the botanical gardens, hoping to return again. Owing to the shortness of the trip, this was unfortunately impossible. But, being an artist myself, I found it entirely enjoyable to see the current handiwork available in the shop. Art is art and the fact that it is new does not make it inferior. The things we saw in the display cases were beautiful but so were the pieces in the shop. So I do feel that although I didn't view the entire museum I did get to enjoy an awfully lot of Native American art.

Here are a few of the highlights:

From the museum:

Hmmm.... I would love to have a bald eagle feather with beading....

 And from the shop:

 There was a cafe in the museum as well, and seeing that they were offering Indian Tacos we had hoped to lunch there, but after walking through we saw that they had made all of the fry bread in the morning and it was sitting in a metal pan waiting to be served hours later. I know I am a food snob, but after making (and eating) tons of Indian tacos with my friend Judy, I like my fry bread fresh. We chose to eat at the national gallery instead where the Philly cheesesteak sub was made in front of my eyes by a man who looked fully qualified to do so.


 If you liked this post you might also enjoy:
- Photo tour of the US Botanical Garden

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