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Voice of America: Listening to our ancestors
Friday, April 7, 2006
"The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. is offering a new exhibit for its visitors. It shows the art and culture of the people who live on the Northwest coast of the United States and Canada.
The exhibit is called “Listening To Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life along the North Pacific Coast.” It includes more than four hundred objects from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Native people used the objects in the American states of Washington and Alaska and British Columbia in Canada. They used the objects in everyday life and for special ceremonies.
Representatives from eleven Native groups worked with museum officials to create the exhibit. The Native groups include the Coast Salish, Makah, Haida and Tlingit.
The representatives helped decide which objects would be displayed and how they would be presented. Part of the Coast Salish display from Washington State includes a carved wooden boat called a dugout. The Haida group lives in British Columbia and Alaska. Its display includes jewelry made from whale bone. The Heiltsuk group also lives in British Columbia. Its display includes beautifully painted masks that cover the face.
The group representatives also provided important information about the objects and how they are used. One example is the Makah tribe of Neah Bay, Washington State. The tribe has hunted whales for thousands of years. Boats, spears and other whale-hunting tools are included in its display."
Get the Story:
Native Americans Explore the Life and Art of Their Ancestors
(Voice of America 4/7)
Relevant Links:
National Museum of the American Indian -
http://www.nmai.si.edu
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