National Museum of the American Indian could be better

A few days ago, me and my kids went to visit the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. It is one of the museums that falls under the Smithsonian’s vast network of museums in Washington. In graduate school, where I got my Master’s in Early American History, we had to read a number of books on Native Americans. I wanted to see this museum due to a strong interest in their history. I also wanted my kids to see it.

Out of all the museums I have been to, in my opinion, this one was below average in terms of the structure of the museum, how little is spent on the details of the life and culture of who they are representing, and how much space is wasted.

I am going to give 4 things the museum did right and 4 things I wish were done better and represented Natives better.

The lobby: The main lobby on the ground floor is set up nice. They have a number boats that natives used during the early days of European settlements. All the boats were handcrafted with precision, which was amazing since there was virtually no technology during that time.

Time spent on Indian Removal Act: The Indian Removal Act, signed into law by Andrew Jackson, was a defining moment in American history and very inhumane. It removed Native Americans tribes, such as the Cherokee, Seminoles and Creeks from their land, forcibly. Many died along the way. The museum devotes a large section to it, rightly.

They had real clothes of Native Americans: One of the few spots where they actually had real artifacts from Natives was on the 2nd floor. They had a wall the featured clothing that was worn by members of the various tribes. That is the only spot where artifacts are prominently featured in the museum.

Devotes a section to their military service: Many Native American served in the military. There is a large section on the 2nd floor of the museum that is totally devoted to their military service. I consider this a good and bad, as I will mention the next section.

The museum did have flaws, in my opinion. I would put it on the lower end of the many museums I have visited, here is why.

4 floors of space, but exhibits were limited: the museum is 4 floors.

1. The first floor has a big cafe and the boat exhibit.
2. The 2nd floor is a gift shop. A wall of Native clothing, and the military service exhibit, which takes up half the floor. It is almost trying to show that Natives loved their country even when dealing with racism and attacks.
3. The 3rd floor is the only floor where it is all used for exhibits. It is by far the best floor
4. The 4th floor is a theater and seating area. I saw no exhibits on this floor. It seems like that whole floor is a waste of valuable space

They devote too much time to Pocahontas. If Pocahontas would not have had that Disney movie made in the 90s, most would probably have never heard of her. She was the daughter of Powhatan, the Native Chief who was a friend, and at times and enemy, of John Smith when they arrived at Jamestown in 1607. She married John Rolfe and moved to England. They devote a whole section to her and have videos of Americans not knowing her real history. It was like a public shaming of them. I found this section to be a bit much.

Very few exhibits of Native American culture: Most of the museum is how poorly they were treated by whites, which is true, and how much they loved America and served in the military. It was a huge paradox. However, there is very little on their culture and how they lived as people. I would have loved to see how they lived and the various tribal cultures.

It had one gift shop and large eatery on two separate floors taking up valuable space: I know I am harping on space again, but Native Americans so much history that goes back centuries before the first Europeans touch North American land. The fact that on the first floor there is an eatery taking up half the floor, then on the 2nd floor there is a gift shop taking up half the floor is such a waste of space the could be used to showcase Native culture.

https://americanindian.si.edu/