Native Peoples' Gifts to Humanity Celebrated in Museum Opening

WASHINGTON, DC, September 22, 2004 (ENS) - Thousands of American Indians from 515 native nations throughout the Americas took part in the Native Nations Procession on the National Mall Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

The first national museum in the country to be dedicated to Native Americans, it is the first to present all exhibitions from a native viewpoint. American Indians played a key role in the design of the building and landscape near the U.S. Capitol, as well as the exhibitions and public programs.

The flowing, curvilinear museum building clad in golden-toned Kasota dolomitic limestone from Minnesota, suggests a sculptural form carved over time by wind and water. (Photo courtesy National Museum of the American Indian)

Chief West led the procession together with Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, a Northern Cheyenne, both wearing long feathered headresses and traditional white leather fringed and beaded suits. Campbell carried the American flag.

The five story building, located between the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the U.S. Botanic Gardens, is made of rough limestone that evokes natural rock formations and is set in a four acre landscaped site that includes a wetlands area and 40 boulders known as “grandfather rocks.” The museum houses the most comprehensive collection of American Indian cultural objects in the world, according to the Smithsonian.

The museum’s founding director, W. Richard West Jr., displays in his office the headress he wore in the inaugual procession. (Photo courtesy NMAI)

The entrance facing east toward the rising sun, a prism window and a 120 foot high atrium called the Potomac were designed in consultation with many Native Americans over a four year period. Native boats will be under construction in the Potomac during the first year. At the inauguration, the two boats under construction will be a Native Hawaiian canoe and an Inuit kayak.

At the conclusion of the procession, the gathering was addressed by the two U.S. senators who sponsored the legislation that authorized the museum.

The museum "is a monument to native peoples' gifts to humanity," such as traditions of democracy, said Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, a Republican, a Northern Cheyenne, and the first American Indian to chair the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii wears traditional ceremonial lei (Photo courtesy Akimeka)

Peru President Alejandro Toledo, a Quechuan and the first indigenous American head of state told the crowd that the museum is "a profound symbol of reconciliation."

"Respect of religion and cultural diversity by all peoples is directly related" to the establishment of human rights, civil society, and poverty reduction, said President Toledo.

He said Peru is committed to "creating a sustainable development model that integrates native people into its economy." He said policies that promote the inclusion of indigenous people into the world's economies will allow governments to "put a human face" on globalization.

Controversy surfaced on opening day. Leaders of the American Indian Movement said in a statement Tuesday that the museum "falls short" by not portraying the "tragic history of America's holocaust against the Native Nations and the peoples of the Americas."

Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who chaired the fundraising committee for the new museum. (Photo courtesy U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs)

With Native American populations reduced from an estimated 15 million at the time of the settlers' arrival in the hemisphere to just slightly more than 200,000 by 1900, American Indians became "the first endangered species in America," Campbell said.

The museum is now proof of "the re-emergence of native peoples," the senator said.

“One gallery is devoted solely to modern, groundbreaking Indian artwork," said West, "and we have a number of landmark pieces commissioned by the Smithsonian throughout the museum. In addition, we have thousands of our priceless objects from our collection of 800,000 in the three inaugural exhibitions and elsewhere in the museum."

Alan Houser's sculpture of a mother and child is featured in the Native Modernism exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian. (Photo courtesy NMAI)

The museum's dedication ceremony marked the launch of a six day First Americans Festival held on the National Mall. On five stages, festival concerts will present contemporary and traditional music ranging from blues, rock and hip-hop, to throat-singing, Hawaiian chants, slack-key guitar and hymn singing. Dance, storytelling, demonstration pavilions on instrumentmaking and dance regalia-making will also be featured.

All events are free and open to the public with no reserved seating. Organizers say they are expecting tens of thousands of people each day and recommend that people bring blankets or portable chairs.