The building itself is worth the trip, and the cafeteria was fabulous, serving Native American food from different areas of the country. Linda had a dish featuring goat from the Southwest counter; I ate a fry bread with buffalo chili from the Great Plains.
I was disappointed in the displays. I know a museum can’t cover over 600 North American tribes, but would it kill them to mention the Lenape? Modern reservation life also received little coverage. The urban Indians of present day Chicago were the subject of a display, but the Indian casino phenomenon was never explored.
As you might expect, many of the exhibits are depressing. Although Indians have survived and, in some cases, retained language and culture, the history of European-Indian contact is one of almost constant treaty-breaking, violence, and genocide. I do know what genocide means, and that is not too strong a word.
From teaching American studies I knew about the Trail of Tears, the Navajo removal, the slaughter at Wounded Knee, and other atrocities. What I did not know is that a band of Chiricahua Apaches, some of whom served the U.S. Army as scouts, were removed to Florida as “prisoners of war” in 1886 and held for 27 years before allowed back to their homeland. I’m sure today we would have put them in Guantanamo.
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