"Tuesday, September 21, marked the Grand Opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, an event attended by the largest gathering of First Nations people ever to assemble in the nation's capital.

All across the mall, the crowd celebrated unity in diversity. But what of the museum itself, fifteen years and $219 million in the making? As is often the case with inherited property, the museum and the history it embodies have engendered darker and more divisive opinions among those it's meant to represent.

It is not lost on the Indian community that the government has found the money to create a showcase for the best of American Indian culture but has opposed programs to educate Indian children and to provide Indians with decent healthcare and housing. It has generally refused to offer any means of compensation for its historic devastation of the Native American way of life."

Get the Story:
First Nations in the 21st Century (The Nation 10/21)

Relevant Links:
National Museum of the American Indian - http://www.nmai.si.edu

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