This research delves into the impact of established intellectual imperialistic representations and codes of culture imposed on Indigenous populations. The author offers new ways of viewing the critiques of Indigenous peoples and discussions of those representation acts by situating them within Indigenous identity and the manifestations of…

In the summer of 1970, the Smithsonian's Festival of American Folklife, an annual event on the National Mall featuring tradition bearers from around the country, premiered a new American Indian program that combined presentations of Native traditions with panel discussions of contemporary social, political, and economic issues facing Native…

From the late nineteenth century through the early 1930s a succession of collectors, ethnologists, and other scholars scoured the Menominee Reservation for data and items of material culture, which they presented to the American public through both publication and display. They did this with the cautious aid of Menominees they hired to provide…

In this article, the authors juxtapose Allison Hedge Coke's poetry collection "Blood Run" (2006) with the larger context in which Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) operates in order to investigate how "Blood Run" exposes the limitations of repatriation legislation, most significantly, how NAGPRA's…

In this article, the author argues that if the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) wishes to make a communicable assertion of cultural sovereignty that avoids speaking something not intended to its audiences, then the very act of communication--the rhetorical frame itself--must be examined. This is not to argue for pandering to…

Gerald Vizenor is one of several American Indian writers who reflect on the place of objects as they are displayed for cultural consumption, questioning the role of museums particularly in housing and displaying those objects. In light of such works of literature the author argues that in different ways each of these writers presents a critique of…

One of the most colorful examples of the reflection of identities in heritage sites involves the historical U.S.-Native relationship. In exploring the topic of U.S.-Native memories, this article focuses on the cultural identities represented at the Horseshoe Bend National Military Park (HBNMP), a heritage site that commemorates the Creek War of…

The aim of this article is to move beyond issues of representation and to address how museum meanings are made on the ground in ongoing encounters between displays and the ideational worlds their audiences bring with them into the museum space. In particular, the author explores how contrasting expectations about exhibits can serve as an…

The practice of archaeology includes of a series of events in which a group of objects is transformed from their initial identities as household goods, religious objects, or detritus of everyday life into artifacts, or as the 1906 Antiquities Act describes them, "objects of antiquity." Frequently, artifacts are further re-identified as part of a…

"Who We Are" is among the exhibitions that premiered in September 2004 during the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of American Indian in the U.S. capital. It is a multimedia-formatted film being shown in the distinctive circular Lelawi Theater located on the fourth floor in the museum. "Lelawi" is a Lenape (Delaware)…

The idea for a retrospective on George Morrison and Allan Houser as one of the inaugural exhibitions at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) came from the NMAI curator of contemporary art, Truman Lowe. An artist and sculptor himself, Lowe knew both artists personally and saw them as mentors and visionaries. Lowe advised an exhibition…

In 1916 George Gustav Heye (1874-1975), a wealthy engineer and financier, founded the Museum of the American Indian in New York City. Heye served as director of the museum, which opened to the public in 1922, until 1956. In 1989, after several decades of financial problems and declining attendance, the Heye collections were transferred to the…

The nationalist function of museums has been the topic of much scholarly attention. The collection of museums at the heart of Washington DC serves as a prime example of how these institutions demand that visitors identify along national affiliations. In this article, the author discusses the case of the National Museum of the American Indian…

Museums are indeed very painful sites for Native people, as they are intimately tied to the colonization process. The museum world has changed significantly from the days when they were considered "ivory towers of exclusivity" to today when Indigenous people are actively involved in making museums more open and community-relevant sites. In this…

Museums in particular are educational tools used to create and perpetuate specific ideologies and historical memories. They have played a prominent role in defining the visibility of Indigenous peoples and cultures in America historical memory by creating exhibits of Indigenous peoples based on perceptions and views that benefit and justify…