Established by an Act of Congress, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is the first national Museum dedicated to the history and culture of Native Americans.
Its goal is to change forever the way Americans view the Native Peoples of the Hemisphere...to correct misconceptions....to demonstrate how Indian culture has enriched the world...and to promote a new dialogue between Indians and non-Indians.
By visiting this new Museum, Americans can learn what Indian civilization has to teach us about the delicate balance between people and nature. About respect for the elderly and the importance of family. About natural healing, organic farming, and many other timely issues.
The NMAI has three locations. In New York City, the Museum is located at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, appropriately close to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. In Washington, D.C., the Museum stands on the last available site on the Mall--next to the Smithsonian's own National Air and Space Museum and at the foot of the U.S. Capitol building. And a third facility in Suitland, Maryland, houses state-of-the-art collections research center.
Native Americans from all over the country are encouraged to come to Washington and New York to make use of the material and human resources of the Museum. And if Native Americans can't come to the Museum, the Museum will come to them.
Outreach efforts will be linked to a vast network, most of which will be located in the Mall Museum, which also functions as a production facility for educational programs, exhibitions and audiovisual materials. Significant progress has already been made with the information available through the Heye Center's Resource Center and the use of interactive and computer-based techniques. The Museum will make its vast collection accessible so that it can be used by Native and non-Native communities, museums, libraries and schools throughout the United States. In this way, native Americans can strengthen their ties to the past, even as they lay the ground for a more prosperous and vital future.
Despite what many people think, Indian cultures did not vanish with the buffalo. Like the buffalo itself, they have survived tenaciously against all attempts to eradicate them. Indian cultures thrive today in many exciting forms. And the Museum will celebrate that fact by being a living museum--the focal point of Indian art, music, literature, dance, philosophy, and theater in the United States.
To become a Charter Member:
Call: 1-800-242-NMAI (6624)
Write: NMAI Member Services Department
P.O. Box 23473
Washington, D.C. 20026-3473
Website: www.si.edu/nmai