America's Indian Renaissance
Ian Fitzgerald on Wall Street's Native American history
After 500 years of conflict and domination America's original inhabitants have finally regained control of their own heritage. On October 30th the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian opened in New York City. The museum, housed on two floors of the old US Customs House in lower Manhattan, is an outstanding example of Beaux-Arts architecture. The building itself is a registered National Historic Landmark, proving a fitting location for this important new museum.
The center, which forms part of the larger National Museum of the American Indian planned for completion in Washington DC by 2001, aims to mark the beginning of a shift in attitude towards native Americans, and to educate Indians and non-Indians alike in the life and culture, from the past up to and beyond the present, of the continent's first inhabitants. In the process it hopes to dispel some of the old Tomahawk-wielding and firewater-drinking stereotypes that have soured American and Indian relations for so long.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
