The Immersive Experience of the American Indian Museum

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall expresses its intention in every inch. From the soaring limestone tiers of the building’s face to the award-winning native American food in the cafeteria to the artwork on the elevators, its desire to tell the story of the original Americans and immerse museum goers in that story is revealed.

Visitors’ immersive experience at the museum begins on the fourth floor at the Lelawi Theater, where a 13-minute film about native life is reflected on three surfaces: a woven screen in the middle of the room, a large rock beneath the screen and the dome over the viewers’ heads. When one moment shows a magnificent canyon on the screen, the dome overhead shows a hawk circling a blue sky and the rock beneath the screen shows the hawk's shadow on the rocks. The designers have succeeded at creating a unique introduction to the museum.

At times, my visits to the American Indian museum have felt like visits to an art gallery. I could enjoy the beauty of the artifacts, but felt I couldn't fully appreciate what I was seeing without more information.

That feeling has changed with the new exhibit, “Nation to Nation.” The exhibit is about the treaties established over the centuries between various tribes and the European settlers then U.S. government. With two films narrated by Robert Redford and many historical artifacts and documents that tell individual stories, the exhibit shows the respectful establishment of the treaty pact, the disembowlment of that pact by the American government, and the renewed independence treaties gave to the Native Americans in the 70s. It’s a powerful, emotional display of the way treaties have succeeded and failed.

Since you're already at the National Museum of the American Indian, you will have the privilege of eating the best food on the mall. The privilege does not come cheap. Lunch for an individual can easily be over $20 at the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe, so reserve the experience for people who will savor the opportunity to eat foods from five different native American regions: Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso America and the Great Plains.  You will find foods here that you cannot find in the rest of Washington, D.C.: Indian fry bread covered in buffalo chili, canela spiced cupcakes, buffalo and duck burgers. The cafe with its view of a fountain waterfall is a vegetarian's dream. I had a cold root vegetable salad in a mustard vinaigrette that was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

Indian fry bread with buffalo chili and fixings

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A Tour of the National Museum of the American Indian

National Museum of the American Indian

Interior of the American Indian Museum

Prisms Create Rainbows in the Interior

Even the Elevators Are Interesting

Interior of the Elevator

Lelawi Theater

Dance Dress for Quechua People, Peru

Dance Dress for Hupa People, California

Day of the Dead

The National Museum of the American Indian will celebrate the Day of the Dead, Nov.1-2, with author Sandra Cisneros.

Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations

The Two-Row Wampum Belt

This belt represents the initial cordiality and respect that encompassed treaties. The blue rows symbolize the Indian canoes and the European ships traveling alongside each other with their own deeply held beliefs in a sea of peace and calm.

Treaties with Respect

I was surprised to learn that in the beginning, Euro-Americans recognized that Indians owned the land, and dealt with Indian leaders with the deference and respect they deserved.

Gifts of Respect

Indians and settlers traded gifts to honor treaties.

U.S. View of Expansion

As the U.S. government gained control of more and more land through nefarious means, the settlers viewed it as positive growth.

Indian View of Expansion

The Indians saw the westward expansion as a slaughter.

Trail of Tears

Once prosperous, educated farmers in the North, Potawatomi were forced to march 660 miles to Kansas because of unfair treaties.

The March of the Potawatomi

The map of the forced march of the Potawatomi, whose people were starved, abandoned and murdered on the route.

Vegetarian Goodness at Mitsitam Cafe

Oysters. In a Cafeteria. Awesome.

Even the Burgers Are Cool Here

A Stroll Through the Hirshhorn Museum

This is the first time I've said this in this blog, but it won't be the last: We in the DMV are spoiled rotten. Why? Because, should we have the urge, we can wander down to the National Mall and take a gander at ... I don't know ... the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in the United States, the Declaration of Independence, Dorothy's ruby slippers. For free.

On a recent Saturday, I did just that: Drove down to the Mall, found a two-hour parking spot on 7th St. SW, and took a slow walk through the second floor of the circular Hirshhorn Museum, through the "Speculative Forms" exhibit. The Hirshhorn has always been a favorite museum at the Mall because of its contemporary art, its outdoor sculpture garden and its general lack of crowds. It feels like the museum you can breathe in.

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Reading the placard of the "Speculative Forms" exhibit, I was completely confused about the objective: "The exhibition highlights the importance of installation and the viewer's eye and body in relation to the object." And then I saw this:  

The exhibit is about the interaction between a sculpture, the space that it's exhibited in and the way the viewer views it. This metal sculpture, "6-68" by David Lee Brown, reflects the light and arc of the Hirshhorn hallway. And I could only see that by standing at a certain perspective. 

The Hirshhorn Museum made me smarter. In about an hour's time. For free. See, I told you we were spoiled rotten.

Speculative Forms at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

At the corner of 7th Street and Independence Ave. SW, Washington D.C.

In-Between Tip: Avoid the overpriced and unimpressive Smithsonian museum cafes and enjoy a quick, interesting bite al fresco at the many food trucks that gather on 7th Street SW. During the weekdays, you will find them south of Independence Ave at 7th and D Streets SW. On the weekends, the trucks line 7th on the Mall.