Smithsonian American Indian Museum: Washington, DC – Livestream Tour

Join us for an online/virtual tour of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States of the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers.The museum is set in a 4.25 acre site in Washington, DC and is surrounded by simulated wetlands. The museum’s east-facing entrance, its prism window and its 120-foot (37 m) high space for contemporary Native performances are direct results of extensive consultations with Native peoples. The museum offers a range of exhibitions, film and video screenings, school group programs, public programs and living culture presentations throughout the year.In general, Native Americans have filled the leadership roles in the design and operation of the museum and have aimed at creating a different atmosphere and experience from museums of European and Euro-American culture. Donna E. House, the Navajo and Oneida botanist who supervised the landscaping, has said, “The landscape flows into the building, and the environment is who we are. We are the trees, we are the rocks, we are the water. And that had to be part of the museum.” This theme of organic flow is reflected by the interior of the museum, whose walls are mostly curving surfaces, with almost no sharp corners.The Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe has five stations serving different regional foods: Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Meso-America, and the Great Plains.