A Visit to the NMAI Archives

I want to dedicate one of these posts to my visit to the NMAI Archives in Suitland, Maryland. At the end of this post will be a PDF of the article in the Citizen Potawatomi Nation's HowNikan newspaper (I'm in the picture, bottom row, third one from the right). This visit made quite an impression on me, and it was the first time I can remember a stranger recognizing a group a very white-looking people as "the Potawatomi" as we came up the front steps. Granted, we did have an appointment, but it was nice to be recognized as Potawatomi on first sight alone.

The entrance to this circular building faces East, and all architectural features hold significance to many Native Americans. Once inside the atrium, we could see that much of the structure is made of wood--the entire building incorporated many natural features--and a skylight is situated in the center of the ceiling. Our guide pointed out that the Archives is meant to let in as much natural light as possible and encourage a welcoming space for Indians to visit. The Archives also includes a ceremonial room, which the Smithsonian keeps supplied with tobacco, sweet grass, sage, cedar, abalone shells, and matches. There is a fire-pit in the center of the room, too, (many of us fell in the fire pit, since we weren't accustomed to having one in the middle of an indoor environment) and our guide said that it was very important for the architects to have such a space in the building, and so the room was built with a complex ventilation system that allows for fire to be lit indoors.

Our tour began with a private viewing of Potawatomi artifacts that our legislator selected. Here are some pictures of those.

This last picture is of our guide holding up a Potawatomi breast plate (an ornament), and the tag on the box indicates that the breast plate is non-Indian in origin. I asked why it was included in the Potawatomi artifacts, then, if it wasn't made by  them, and she assured me that many Potawatomi artifacts were not made by Potawatomi, but were traded for. Similarly, many of the artifacts are ornamented with elaborate beading--the beads were introduced to the Potawatomi by the French, and consequently many beads were acquisitions by way of trade.

After we viewed the selections, we were invited to explore the entirety of the collection of artifacts in the Archives. The artifacts collection is located on the second floor of the building, the first containing archaeological finds (mainly sacred things from grave sites, which many Indians do not wish to see) and the third containing the archives of text (I can't wait to go back to explore this one on my own!). The layout of this collection is pretty neat: all artifacts are stored according to the location of the individual tribes. Since the Potawatomi are from the Northeastern Woodlands, the Potawatomi artifacts are located in the northeastern part of the room. I love this system! Since there are so many artifacts, the stacks that hold them can move to collapse and expand aisles. I filmed a bit of this happening so you can understand the full effect. Items on the top shelves can be accessed by lifts, which guests are welcome to use. While only the staff can touch the individual artifacts, visitors can pull out shelves and hold the boxes containing the artifacts to view what they please. In the following video, the guide also explains why the NMAI continues to collect artifacts from our contemporary environments....they, too, become a part of our history (and yes, my dad is wearing my grandmother's purse...and yes, I did forget that I was filming for a time).

Hope you enjoy this information as much as I did!