DIRECTOR’S LETTER .............................
TIPPING POINT A
s we reach the holiday season, I always take the opportunity to reflect on the Museum’s ac- complishments and milestones of the past year – all made
possible through the dedicated support of our valued members, partner organizations, donors and staff. I am extremely proud of our contin- ued focus on our Strategic Plan goals, which we are realizing one by one. Of particular note this year, we have successfully reached new audi- ences and participated in momentous current events that effectively changed the narrative of American history. It is the goal of every museum and cultural
organization to engage and inspire; it is quite another to bear witness to a historic shift in mindset. This fall, NMAI staff were in California to participate in major events and conversations reflecting such shifts in perspective. The Museum was invited to discuss both the state’s educational goals toward teaching more accurate histories on American Indians as well as to host public programs tied to recent city council decisions on the representation of Native peoples. On October 8, the City of Los Angeles cel-
ebrated its inaugural Indigenous Peoples Day and our staff were present to conduct public programs for hundreds of participants. We offered a variety of hands-on activities for chil- dren, demonstrations of our Native Knowledge 360° digital learning portal and performances by Irka Mateo (Taíno/Dominican), a talented singer-songwriter with a long history of part- nership with the Museum. “I would urge for people to do some research
and realize that replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day and removing all sym- bols of oppression and hatred is probably good for all societies, not just Indigenous America,” said City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, ad- dressing the crowd. O’Farrell, a member of the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma, introduced the motion in 2015. Two years later, the city council approved the change. Cities across the U.S. have followed suit,
including San Francisco, which celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day in early October just weeks after another major event took place
4 AMERICAN INDIAN WINTER 2018
Early Days was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1894. The decision to remove it came Sept. 12, 2018, when San Francisco’s Board of Appeals voted to place it in storage. It depicts a fallen American Indian cowering at the feet of a Catholic missionary who points skyward, as well as a Spanish cowboy raising his hand in victory.
there. In the pre-dawn hours of September 14, the city streets weren’t filled with music and dance, but rather the sound of a crane moving a 2,000-pound sculpture, Early Days, onto a flatbed truck – nearly 124 years to the day of the cornerstone being laid on the monument. The evening prior, the NMAI hosted a
panel discussion on the topic of the statue and the decades-long effort to remove it. At the event, Kim Shuck (Tsalagi [Cherokee]), San Francisco’s poet laureate, spoke about what the statue meant to her: “I was part of the ef- fort to take it down in the 90s and now we did it. And not only that, we got an apology [from the San Francisco Board of Appeals]. It was a good one too. It included the words ‘I have been educated,’ which is the point.” Many San Franciscans,
especially the
Ohlone – the descendants of the Native people who originally inhabited the area – have long looked upon the statue with dismay. I believe that the end of Early Days comes as a tipping point for the politics of Native American mem- ory. There remains a lot of work to be done, but there have been successes in challenging depic- tions that make us all look the same and render us imaginary.
A few months prior to our presence in Cal-
ifornia, Museum staff were across the country in Florida helping to open a first-of-its-kind exhibition at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Cen- ter. Far from imaginary, this stunning collec- tion of works showcases commissioned art from Native artists across the country as well as traditional objects. Today, as in the past, American Indian
art and artists reflect not only tribal culture but also personal vision; not only inherited but also contemporary techniques, materials and designs. As their ancestors did, Native artists continue to create pieces that express an ever-changing interplay of tradition and innovation. Although the Epcot exhibition venue is markedly different than an urban street or city council chamber, I find that the messages and lessons being offered in each location are similar. I appreciate your continued support of the
Museum and its efforts to reach new audiences where they are, serving as a nexus between hon- oring Native peoples’ past accomplishments and the current stories they are telling.X
Kevin Gover (Pawnee) is the director of the National Museum of the American Indian – Smithsonian.
PHOTO © JULIA LOMAX
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