Address
Washington
Independence Ave SW, Washington,
DC 20560, United States
Phone: 202-633-1000
New York
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House
One Bowling Green
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212-514-3700
Support
Phone: 800-242-6624
Phone: 202-633-6644 (group reservations)
Email: nmai-info@si.edu
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About National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian, features curated collections about the Native people of the Western hemisphere, and their related allies. From the Arctic Circle to the remote regions of Tierra Del Fuego, the museum imparts to educate and provide a learning base for people to understand about the culture and history of the Native American Indians. Visited by 1.3 million people, the museum opened to the public in 2004, and is solely dedicated to language, arts, life, and history of the Native Americans.
The museum is closely associated with the Smithsonian Institution, and has 3 facilities in the United States (Washington D.C, New York, and Maryland). Each of the 3 facilities function differently, the Museum at Washington D.C has exhibits galleries and research programs, the Museum in New York is a centre for performing arts, lectures, and education, and the Museum at Maryland focuses on conservation and collections of artefacts and archive storages.
Opened in 1994, and founded by George Gustav Heyse, the museum at New York has the largest collection of Native American artefacts, in the world, and stands known as the George Gustav Heyse Centre. Located within the U.S Custom House, the museum has over 1 million objects as curated indigenous exhibits, collected by the Heyse Foundation. They museum hosts a variety of cultural events all through the year, namely the Children’s festival (May), Hispanic heritage month (September), Native Art Market (December), seminars, music festivals, and readings.
A 5 storey building, set on a 4.2 acres land, the museum at the U.S Capitol, is the first of the buildings to appear at the site of the National Mall. The museum exhibits featuring the lifestyle, history, and cultural art of the Native Americans, and hosts drama, dance, music and art related events, all round the year. There are 5 different zones at various levels, the Rasmuson theatre, the Outdoor theatre, the Lelawi theatre, the Potomac Atrium, and the Conference centre and workshop, for people to understand the Native American history in a more insightful way. The official website lists the upcoming events, exhibitions and other useful information.
Exhibit collections include, bronze sculpture by Roxanne, 20-foot totem by Nathan, Inuit sculptures, Yup’ik carvings, Lakota dolls, Peruvian pottery and wooden artefacts, and many others. Open 7 days a week, the museum at Washington D.C and New York function from 10am-5pm, all year round, and the admission is free for all, and remains closed on Christmas Day.
Become a member of the museum to support the mission and to enjoy additional benefits. There are different membership levels. The individual membership includes an NMAI member card, one year subscription to American Indian, free admission to Cooper-Hewitt and National Design Museum, and discounts on purchases from NMAI museum stores. For complaints or queries on tickets, events, cancellation, photography, or others, reach the museum’s support.
