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Museum Tackles Stereotypes, Celebrates CultureBefore entering the National Museum of the American Indian, I was skeptical. Back in September, I produced a radio show about the museum’s opening on September 21, 2004. It’s hard to believe that this is the first national museum in the country dedicated exclusively to Native Americans. A few of our guests said a museum celebrating Native culture is long overdue, but the louder voices argued a critical piece of history is missing. Groups like the American Indian Movement feel the “museum falls short in that it does not characterize or does it display the sordid and tragic history of America’s holocaust against the Native Nations and peoples of the Americas.” They’re calling for the museum to be renamed the National Holocaust Museum of the American Indian. A Jewish museum with no mention of the Holocaust is unthinkable. Doesn’t the same apply to a museum about Native Americans? Helen Maynor Scheirbeck, NMAI’s assistant director for public programs, says while the museum aims to present stories, facts and statistics about the past, the main goal is to focus on the cultural aspects of Native life. “We consider ourselves to be a museum about the people who are living today,” she said. “The question we hope to answer is, ‘Who are Indian peoples?’” The NMAI aims to tackle that question with three permanent exhibits: “Our Universes” features tribal philosophies and world views; “Our Peoples” a looks at historical events from a native peoples’ perspective; and “Our Lives” focuses on Native people today. The museum was busy on Monday. The majority of the visitors seemed to be incredibly engaged. “I had no idea they took blood samples from Indians,” said one patron. Another was shocked to learn that Indians were forced to carry ID cards providing they were in fact Indian. Phillip Hillaire, our tour guide, encounters people who’ve never met a “real Indian” on a daily basis. Hillaire, who is a member of the Lummi tribe, says he’s used to the bizarre remarks and questions by now. “Kids often say, ‘Wow, you’re the first Indian I’ve ever met.’” Adults almost always ask about casinos. “A lot of them come in here thinking we’re all wealthy, but we’re not. This museum is helping to erase those stereotypes. It’s a good start.” --Rose Aguilar, KALW-FM San Francisco Posted on 03.08.05 at 7:42 AM by Rose Aguilar, KALW-FM San Franciso First Impressions from a Northwest Reporter
The café is divided into geographical regions. Because I identify frybread with traditional Indian meals, I sought that out and found it in the Great Plains section. It was labeled as a side dish. I got a quinoa salad from South America, pumpkin soup from the Northern Woodlands and pinto bean and corn enchiladas from Meso America. I skipped the Northwest Coast, because I don’t eat salmon anyway. During lunch, I asked associate curator Emil Her Many Horses if there were any Northwest tribes among the 24 tribes represented in the museum and was disappointed when he said Yakama was the only one from Washington. However, my tour guide, as it turned out, was from the Lummi Nation. And while they’re not exactly in my coverage area, I am well acquainted with that part of the state, since I spend nearly every weekend there. Phillip Hillaire moved to DC last summer to work in the museum. He was robbed within a month. His mother attended an Indian boarding school and his grandfather was given the name Hillaire by French missionaries who thought he was hilarious. When I was new to the state, I liked calling Western Washington’s northernmost county “What.com.” I knew it was really an Indian word, but today I learned that Whatcom means “the sound of water.”
In the Universes exhibit, Hillaire drew our attention to a Welcoming the Morning song, which he said he recognized when he started at the museum because it was a Northwest Coastal song by the Squamish Tribe.
The sculptures were a highlight. A tall bronze one near a window depicted George Washington and some Oneida Indians “burying the hatchet,” literally. A bear, wolf and turtle were represented as well. And a little Indian girl holding a doll stood behind them, looking up at a bird in the bronze tree. I also enjoyed Allan Houser’s sculptures in the Native Modernism section. After hearing that Houser was Apache, I thought, “Of course.” The faces on his sculptures looked Apache. I don’t even know what it means to look Apache, but something about the broad stalwart faces and long flowing hair looked different to me than representations I’ve seen of other tribes. Later in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs meeting room, I admired a statue of an Indian aiming an arrow at the sky. (or lighting fixture, to be precise.) He looked Apache to me too, and no wonder, because it was a Houser as well. The museum displayed Houser’s series called Mother and Child, in which the mothers clutched their children and hid them under clothing to protect them from soldiers. In most of the sculptures, the faces of mother and child were the only discernable features. In the Lives exhibit, Hillaire pointed out a ceramic Lummi figurine from among dozens in a serpentine display case containing heads and figures made of clay, wood and stone. Next to them were gold pieces and ears of corn. Corn was more valuable to the Indians than gold, because it sustained the people, but the white man, of course, was more interested in the gold. A group leader from New Jersey, who merged his teenage group with ours, mentioned that some of them would be visiting the Holocaust museum later. He seemed defensive, I thought, about complaints he must have heard about the lack of Indian Holocaust history at this museum. However, a Seminole display nearby documented several instances where the fight to remain in the Everglades cost tribal members their lives or dignity. As we left that area, Hillaire showed us a wall where the names of the remaining Western Hemisphere tribes were projected in circular patterns. The names didn’t seem to be in any order, and I couldn’t actually find any from my region. I think Klallam was the closest of the ones I read. But because I couldn’t find the names I was looking for, I wound up reading a whole bunch of names I’d never seen before. Neat trick, to get me to learn something new. --Kari Neumeyer, The Olympian Posted on 03.08.05 at 2:30 AM by Kari Neumeyer, The Olympian (Olympia, WA) Personal StoriesOn Museum Tour, Disappointment by the BucketfulThe last time I visited the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington—about a month after it opened last year—I looked in vain for any trace of my tribe. I was disappointed. That experience and reaction are not unusual for many Native people visiting their new museum, large though limited. Proud of the museum we are, like it we do—but what would make us really LOVE the place is if all 560 tribes of Native Americans got equal time and space in the museum’s many displays. Or if the whole place were devoted to just one tribe: our own. Especially mine, the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma. During Monday’s museum tour for the traveling seminar journalists, I broke off after a few exhibits to continue my quest. Ah, finally, I found it. There it was, a mention of my tribe—and I was thrilled. Until I started reading. In the Kiowa tribal exhibit in a fourth-floor section called “Our Peoples” was this headline: “Osages MASSACRE Adante’s Band.” The description was almost newspaper-style, quoting survivors. It reported an 1833 attack by Osages in a place now called, gulp, “Beheading Mountain.” “The Osages had beheaded their victims with swords and left the heads in brass buckets the Kiowas had. Not many escaped.” Ouch. It’s a good example of being careful what you ask for. It’s also a good example of how an “Indian story” can fall short and disappoint. Now, next time I tour the museum, I’ll look for a NICE mention of my tribe—for what media critics are fond of calling a “positive story.” Now, let me tell you about my ancestor, Three Buckets …
Denny McAuliffe, reznet project director, University of Montana
Posted on 03.08.05 at 2:13 AM by Victor Merina Tribal Recognition and IdentityA Reporter’s Perspective: Asking the Touchy Question, Looking for the Real AnswerOn the first full day of the Covering Indian Country seminar and we’ve all learned this about American Indian etiquette: Never ask someone if they’re “full-blooded.” We received this advice from Cristina Azocar and Kenneth Adams, members of the Upper Mattaponni Tribe in Virginia. (Adams is chief, and Azocar is his niece.) They were part of the final session in a day that included talks by staff members of the National Museum of the American Indian, an abbreviated but excellent tour of the museum and a personal session with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs. Even such a short time into a week of learning about American Indian issues, it’s clear that Indian Country is a specialized topic. Tribal governments, native traditions, cultural nuances. One could spend a lifetime learning about the American-Indian experience and still have several lifetimes of material left to learn – as made clear by speaker Patricia Zell, who is into a 30-year career working on American Indian issues. But in other ways, covering American Indians is not a unique experience: Talking about race, ethnicity and culture are touchy subjects no matter who you’re covering. Part of the aim of the seminar is to learn to cover American Indian issues with sensitivity. So it’s good we established on the first day that the “full-blooded” question is insulting. But is it a good idea to avoid questions because they’re potentially insulting or, at the least, uncomfortable? I, and the others in my group, say no. We’re reporters. It’s our job to ask questions. This topic reminds me of the bumper sticker “Polite women rarely make history.” I usually don’t like bumper stickers and try not to quote them, I can’t argue with this statement, even when it’s plastered on the rear-end of a car. The same can be said of reporting. Let’s modify it to, “Intimidated reporters rarely write interesting stories.” In stories about American Indian issues, background matters. Is your dad Indian? Your mom? Do you live on a reservation? Why? Why not? Did other kids tease you about your heritage? Does it hurt that you’re light-skinned and feel you have to justify your claim of American Indian heritage to others? Maybe a reporter will feel self-conscious asking these questions, but in many cases asking them will result in a better and more compassionate, thoroughly reported story. During Black History Month, my paper (The Asheville Citizen-Times in Asheville, N.C.) concentrated on covering stories important to the black community. Frank discussions about race were necessary, and the result was some very satisfying reporting. Sometimes it’s not comfortable to ask, or answer, questions like, “Do you prefer to be called black or African-American,” or, “Did you experience racism as a child?” or, “Is it at all frustrating that the small number of blacks in this community means there’s a small chance you’ll ever have a black representative in local government?” But the interviews taught me that usually, people want to talk about their experiences, especially if questions are posed in a sincere desire to learn. American Indians throughout the day stressed that news coverage of their issues will help their cause. They said they want stories that go beyond stereotypes to the core of issues like sovereignty, gaming, health care and education that truly affect their lives. The journalists in this seminar seem truly interested in understanding the American Indian experience and want to cover the issues. But our jobs require that sometimes all involved endure discomfort to produce a relevant story. Sure, there are tricky questions, but if any of us are going to accomplish our goals, we’ve got to ask them anyway.
Jill Ingram
Posted on 03.08.05 at 2:02 AM by Victor Merina In the NewsNCAI Director Pushes Tribes to Reach Out, ‘Turn the Tide’With the lessons of her clan’s late chief to guide her, Jacqueline Johnson is trying to change the way things get done in Indian Country.
“We need everyone. We can’t always be our best advocates,” Johnson said, recounting her mentor’s words to a group of journalists Sunday in Washington, D.C. “We know that we have to reach out further.” Johnson, who heads the nation’s oldest and largest American Indian organization, kicked off a weeklong journalism fellowship with a talk about her group’s priorities. The journalists are spending eight days studying how to cover Indian Country, with some intensive training first in Washington. Johnson said tribes are getting better at working together to pursue more strategic court cases, as civil-rights groups did in the past, and are trying to be more productive at lobbying lawmakers. American Indians traditionally have done a good job of communicating among themselves about the important issues, she said, and now she hopes they are getting better at talking to others. In doing so, Johnson hopes tribes can be successful at her organization’s three top priorities: preserving sovereignty, promoting economic development and pushing for a resolution to the drawn-out trust problems. Posted on 03.07.05 at 3:23 AM by Michelle DeArmond, Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise |
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Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, wants to “turn the tide” and help tribes become more effective at fighting for their rights from Congress to the courthouse. The key to that success, she said, can be found in the words of her Tlinglit mentor.
