Visit the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC

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If you haven’t visited the National Mall in Washington, DC for a few years, you will be delighted to discover the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) opened in 2004. This is a very beautiful, five story Museum with 14 million items in its incredible collection.

You will see many different types of artifacts, artwork and spiritual items on display in ongoing as well as changing exhibits at the NMAI. Paintings, carvings, pottery, beadwork, textiles, featherwork and masks from ancient through modern times are just some of the items featured in exhibits. Exhibits explore Native history and present-day culture and galleries at the Museum display American Indian artwork.  

Visitors interested in American Indians native to the local area will enjoy a special exhibit entitled “Return to a Native Place: Algonquian Peoples of the Chesapeake.” This ongoing exhibit educates visitors about Indian peoples living in the Chesapeake Bay region both in the past and today. The histories of the Nanticoke, Powhatan and Piscataway tribes are recounted in photographs and artifacts. Ceremonial articles as well as those used in everyday life from the 1600s through the present day are featured in this exhibit.

You can learn about the worldviews and philosophies of indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere in a captivating exhibit at the NMAI. “Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World” explores the way various peoples perceive the creation and order of the universe as well as humankind’s relationship with the natural world. Eight cultures’ cosmological views and several cultural ceremonies are presented, including those of indigenous peoples of Canada and diverse regions of the US and South America.

“Our Lives: Contemporary Life and Identities” is a wonderful NMAI exhibit that details the present-day lives of eight American Indian communities. Visitors have a unique opportunity to learn about Native life in the 21st century from American Indians themselves. A main focus of the “Our Lives” exhibit is identity.

In addition to these and many other fascinating exhibits, visitors can attend a variety of special programs and events at the NMA. Films are shown daily at the Museum, and music and dance performances are held both indoors and outside seasonally.

Fun and educational special events and festivals are offered at NMAI seasonally. If you visit during the Hawaiian Festival, you will experience Hawaiian culture firsthand through films, dances, storytelling, lectures and art.

Another popular and fun program held in the summer months at NMAI is the Ladybug Release. On Fridays throughout June and twice in August, NMAI invites visitors to join in the release of lady bugs in the Native Croplands area outside the museum. This fun effort to support natural pest control is a popular event with children as well as adults.