This weekend, I decided to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian to kick off summer here in Washington, D.C.
Upon arrival, I was impressed by the beautiful landscape of floral arrangements and cascading waterfall which all play homage to Native American culture.
The museum itself has four floors that are filled with exhibits, special exhibits, gift shops, theaters, and a café.
Not all parts of the museum are currently open due to covid-19 precautions but there still is plenty to see and learn in the meantime.
The Americans exhibit on the third floor is my favorite as it details how American Indian culture was and continues to be incorporated into the fabric of our history and everyday lives.
Moreover, the exhibit breaks down into segments that focus on familiar historical events of Pocahontas’s life, the Trail of Tears, and the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Pocahontas is an American Indian who doesn’t need much introduction, but the exhibit does quite a lot of justice in regards to really detailing her influence in the America’s and in England around the 1600’s.
More specific, the presentation demonstrates how Thomas Rolfe, the son of Pocahontas and John Rolfe, traveled from England to Virginia creating a phenomenon best described as Virginians proudly wanting to claim his famed Indian heritage as part of their own.
Pocahontas’s influence and notoriety was so powerful that it reshaped the Racial Integrity Act in 1924 allowing whites to claim a small percentage of Native American blood while still being classified as Caucasian and therefore bypassing the old one drop rule.
The demonstration also goes on to detail that even with the popularity of Pocahontas, many Native Americans were still being exposed to harsh treatments and wars, which is how most of us first were introduced to the brave heroine when she first met English settler, John Smith.
Speaking of “influence” the Americans exhibit offered a plethora of visual interpretation on how Native American culture is all around us.
Extra photos from the Americans exhibit:
I enjoyed my visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and hope that my review provided you with some extra insight.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any D.C. museum recommendations for me to review this summer.
Thanks for reading!
Sierra
