National Museum of the American Indian

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Tucked away behind the famous bull on Wall Street lies One Bowling Green, New York. Now you may ask, what building is this? Well, for one thing it is not a typical Starbucks or pretzel stand you see everywhere on street corners. It is the National Museum of the American Indian. Though the word “American Indian” has a connotation of loud random chants, ridiculous costumes and medicine men who speak gibberish, this one of a kind museum houses many artifacts and customs of traditional Native Americans. As you first walk in, The South Gallery hosts an array of native cloths, jackets, Crow dresses, and moccasins, each unique to their local tribes, including the likes of the Sioux and Cherokee tribes. Reading the descriptions of these dresses and clothes as well as watching short video clips, it was clear that making clothes was not a toil or requirement of Native Americans but instead, it made them more spiritual, according to one lady in the movie. To another woman, making dresses was a gift left by family and each and every dress had a family history through the woven patterns and designs. Many people, mostly women because men were off at war, felt worthy to make these dresses with many embellishments and trinkets such as glass beads and special threads. Each and every uniform, especially for the men, had a different meaning. For example, the Kiowa Battle Dress is a black dress that women wore to announce and celebrate their husband and tribes great victory over an important enemy. Also, this dress recognizes and honors the sacrifices of the warriors in the battle.

During my trip, there was a special exhibition by Annie Pootoogook, who grew up in the same town as renowned American Indian artists Pudlo Pudlat and Kenojuak Ashevak. Her pictures depicted traditional Inuit lifestyle as well as many problems of Indians- alcoholism, domestic violence, suicide, depression and drug addiction. Art in the form of drawing is uplifting for Annie and helps her get through the rough patches in her life. In her own words, Annie describes her art as “happy and not happy cycles.” Another artist on display was Andrea Carlson whose bold compositions commented on the relationships between the collector and the collected. She creates a “holy” space where the collected object is a symbol of cultural conquest and states how “the collected object is no longer within the sphere of its creator, nor of the collector. Instead, the object enters an imaginary world that emphasizes its power, beauty, and sometimes its humor.” Clearly, this museum not only features beautiful clothing but also teaches us much more about American Indian history than we have known before.