Native American Indian Museum Essay

During the first half of the 20th century numerous changes went on in the native community. Life on the reservations was bleak and economic opportunities were almost non-existence. Many natives remained on the reservations where they were able to maintain their language and culture (Otten, Dutton). However, some others left the reservations for economic opportunities that the growing U.S economy promised and offered. Native Americans who didn’t live on the reservations chose to make as little reference as possible to their indigenous roots, much like other ethnic groups that migrated into the U.S. That is because though most Native Americans knew that the dominant culture would enjoy the indigenous dances and native jewelry and pottery, etc, it was almost impossible to live a traditional native lifestyle. Several natives

Native American art is a profoundly expressive culture that has been a way of life for so many Native Americans. Native American art history has advanced over thousands of years and is composed of several idiosyncratic styles from the differentiating cultures of diverse Indian tribes. From Navajo to Hopi, each tribe has a particular history, which consists of many types of Native American arts including beadwork, jewelry, weaving, pottery, carvings, kachinas, masks, totem poles, and more. To truly understand Native American art, we will explore Native American art history, its subjects, and if Native American art has a spiritual connection to it.

The fascination with Native Americans has been a constant with outsiders since explorers first “discovered” the New World. The biggest surge in this fascination came in the mid-19th century when the Indian Wars were starting to come to an end and the belief that Native Americans were disappearing, walking into the sunset never to be seen again. This led to an increase in the collecting of anything Native American, from artifacts to stories to portraits. The inevitable outcome of this was that Native Americans, who were never considered very highly to begin with, where now moved into a category of scientific interest to be study. This scientific interest in Native Americans is what many museums and other institutions based their collections and exhibits on and is one of the issues that many Native Americans have with how both their people and their culture were, and to some extent still are, represented in these places.

Given that this “visit” was more like a virtual experience, I was still able to access a couple of my senses, just as if I was at the actual exhibition. Through the use of anecdotes and detailed images, I am able to see all of the personal experiences an individual had while practicing a particular dance and what it meant to them. In this exhibition, there are ten different dances displayed, including the: Yup´ik Yurapiaq and the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance, Yakama Girl’s Fancy Shawl Dance, Cubeo Óyne Dance, Yoreme Pajko’ora Dance, Mapuche Mütrüm Purun, Tlingit Ku.éex ' Entrance Dance, Lakota Men’s Northern Traditional Dance, Seminole Stomp Dance, Hopi Butterfly Dance, and finally, Quechua Danza de Tijeras (Scissor Dance). All parts of the exhibit were insightful, but the two that sparked my interest the most were the Yup´ik Yurapiaq and the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance and the Quechua Danza de Tijeras (Scissor Dance).

George Gustav Heye Center - The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is a fascinating building at the Bowling Green area of Lower Manhattan. It’s close to Battery Park that displays an elegant view of the water. You can see ferries floating by headed towards Staten Island, since South Ferry Terminal is nearby. It allows you to appreciate the hidden gems of the city located in the outskirts Manhattan. One of those very treasures is the museum mentioned previously.

Native American, or American Indians, have a rich culture comprised of struggle, strife and success. For this paper, i will discuss the Native American Culture and it's history.

The Barona Tribal Museum presents several interesting exhibits that showcased different aspects of Native Indian culture and lifestyle such as their sciences, athletics and the planning/architecture of the Barona Indian Reservations.

Over the weekend, I took the time to explore two museums. The first museum I visited was the D.I.A , also known as the Detroit Institute of Arts. The D.I.A was a very beautiful, multicultural, and unique place. I also took the time to visit and explore the Charles H. Wright Museum of Detroit. Luckily, these museums weren’t too far from each other they were roughly 5-7 minutes apart. The Charles H. Wright Museum was also very beautiful, it was more appealing to me because it is a museum that exhibits and highlights the history of the African American culture. The Charles H. Wright museum also happens to be the largest African American museum in the world.

Sometimes the controversy goes beyond disagreement on factual information, such as the age of humanity or source of Earth’s creation, and how we cover this information in schools. In the case of certain American Indian groups, there has been conflict in the actual excavation of artifacts, preventing physical evidence from being utilized for limitless amounts of scientific conclusion. There has been disharmony in the idea of ownership and increased distrust, which is most likely in part due to the American Indians’ deeply regrettable historic relationship with the United States government.

Page, Jake. In the hands of the Great Spirit: the 20,000-year history of American Indians.

To start off, a Natural History Museum is usually a place where the public can visit to obtain knowledge on the history of the earth and its inhabitants. Much about people’s culture and customs is found in a Natural History museum, especially people that have made a difference or played a role in history that we learn today. Therefore, the Indigenous peoples are represented in these precise museums. The indigenous people have various amount of customs that are even used today, however, the fact that many of their descriptions are led by the word “histor” or “ancient” almost makes the guests at museums believe that these indigenous people are no longer alive, and that is incorrect. The key objective for a Natural History museum is to simply help connect the understanding of human beings, connections based on culture, communities, to the earth and to each other. Precisely, The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles does not fully represent in depth the qualities that made the indigenous people so innovative, intelligent, and powerful; Therefore, the importance of the indigenous people is almost overshadowed by everything else that is presented at the museum. Overall, the indigenous people are represented here because of their

In the early 1990’s the Smithsonian Institution and its National Museum of the American Indian committed to the returning of human remains, burial artifacts, sacred objects, and other articles of cultural patrimony to Indian tribes. (“IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY”). Moreover, members are active in court cases involving land claims. Dating back to a treaty during George Washington’s administration, the Indian Nations and all members of the Iroquois confederation, have demanded the return of vast swaths of land, which is back up by the federal government. Chen

Many textbooks attribute modern day democracy to the Europeans who landed on and colonized North America. It’s often taken for granted that the Native American people had systems of social and political organizations established long before first contact. The Iroquois Confederacy is an example of such an organization; one of such great significance that its’ extent and impact can be observed in present-day American democracy. On Wednesday September 16, 1987 Congress passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 76 which acknowledged “the contribution of the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations to the development of the U.S. Constitution.” In the book The American Heritage Book of Indians an introduction from John F. Kennedy states that “When we forget great contributors to our American history-when we neglect the heroic past of the American Indian-we thereby weaken our own heritage. We need to remember the contribution our forefathers found here and from which they borrowed liberally. When Indians controlled the balance of power…the pioneers found that Indians had developed a high civilization with safeguards for ensuring the peace. The League of the Iroquois, inspired Benjamin Franklin to copy it in planning the federation of States.” The following thesis will explain what contributions the Iroquois and their Confederacy made to the American form of government in existence today.

To a Native American, ones heritage can define who an individual is and may become. When America was being populated by Europeans there was an effort to alter the way of life for Native Americans forcing them to adopt new ideas and abandon their traditions. This has led to modern Native Americans feeling like they have lost a large piece of their identity. Native Americans struggle in mainstream society because they have dealt with great trauma and don’t have the tools to help them cope in healthy ways. They have been torn from their homes and heritage, as there was “centuries of forcible removal of Native American children from their homes in order to be assimilated into mainstream American culture” (Wyant). The result of these kinds of actions

The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian is located at 3001 Central Street in Evanston, Illinois. The museum’s main purpose is not only to educate the public about American Indians, but also to “deconstruct stereotypes” and give tribal members something along the lines of a safe place where they are welcome to embrace their ethnicity. One factor that showcases the information I previously stated is the fact that tribal members have free admission into the museum. Another way the museum salutes the ethnicity of American Indians is by commemorating Native individuals alive today. Names of famous Native Americans are displayed along with their contributions to the ethnic group. One of the people displayed is Sarah Deer, who is a professor and lawyer that fought for Tribal Jurisdiction.